Employee complaints against employers: how can you protect your rights?

Depending on the nature of the interference, the employee may also turn to the Labour Inspectorate or a court and seek, for example, cessation of the unlawful conduct, removal of its consequences, compensation for damage or compensation for non-pecuniary harm. In this article, we will discuss the various remedies available to employees.

When can an employee file a complaint?

An employer is required to discuss with an employee their complaint concerning the exercise of rights and obligations arising from employment relationships. At the employee’s request, the complaint may also be discussed with a trade union, works council or occupational health and safety representative.¹

The complaint may concern, for example, workplace bullying, mobbing or bossing, discrimination and unequal treatment, sexual or other harassment, inappropriate conduct by a supervisor, remuneration, working conditions or an unlawful interference with the employee’s privacy.

Employee privacy is expressly protected by the Labour Code. For example, unless there is a serious reason arising from the particular nature of the employer’s activities, the employer may not monitor employees, intercept and record their telephone calls or monitor their electronic mail.²

Protection of an employee’s personality rights is, however, broader. An interference may also consist of humiliating treatment, bullying or other conduct affecting the employee’s dignity, reputation or privacy. An employee complaint may therefore also serve as one of the means of protecting the employee’s personality rights.³

How must the employer discuss the complaint?

It is not sufficient for the employer merely to accept the complaint or provide the employee with a formal response.

Discussion means negotiations between the employer and the employee, an exchange of views and explanations with the aim of reaching an agreement. The employee is also entitled to receive a reasoned response to their position.⁴

The employee may request additional information and explanations as well as an in-person meeting with the employer at the appropriate management level.⁵ The employer cannot avoid this obligation without justification.

The Czech Supreme Administrative Court has held, for example, that an employee’s temporary incapacity for work does not in itself exclude the employer’s obligation to discuss the complaint if the employee is willing to participate and their medical regime does not prevent them from doing so. Nor does the unwillingness of a trade union to participate in the meeting automatically constitute an obstacle.⁶

Sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace bullying

An employee complaint may also be used in cases of discrimination, workplace bullying or sexual harassment. Legal literature expressly identifies this procedure as one of the internal mechanisms available to employees to protect themselves against harassment.⁷

Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination and may take a verbal, non-verbal or physical form, or the form of so-called quid pro quo (“something for something”) harassment.⁸ In practice, this may include, for example, unwelcome sexual remarks or propositions, sexually explicit messages, unwanted physical contact or making a particular employment-related benefit conditional upon conduct of a sexual nature.

Sexual harassment can be particularly difficult to prove because it often occurs without witnesses. Employees should therefore retain messages, emails and any other available evidence and keep records of individual incidents.⁷

If an employer becomes aware of harassment, it should investigate the situation and take appropriate measures. The Czech Public Defender of Rights has further concluded that a failure to discuss a discrimination complaint which is not manifestly unfounded may also constitute a breach of the employer’s duty to ensure equal treatment.⁹

An employer must not penalise an employee for filing a complaint

An employer must not penalise or disadvantage an employee because the employee has lawfully asserted their rights.¹⁰

The employer should therefore not respond to a complaint, for example, by deliberately worsening the employee’s working conditions, disadvantaging them in terms of remuneration or imposing another disadvantage motivated by the fact that the employee raised the complaint.

Penalising or disadvantaging an employee on these grounds also constitutes an administrative offence for which a fine of up to CZK 1,000,000 may be imposed on the employer.¹¹

What if the employer fails to discuss the complaint?

Failure to discuss an employee’s complaint constitutes an administrative offence in itself. The employer may be fined up to CZK 400,000.¹²

The employee may submit a complaint to the competent Regional Labour Inspectorate. It should, however, be borne in mind that the Labour Inspectorate supervises compliance with employment legislation but does not decide individual disputes between employees and employers and cannot, for example, award compensation for non-pecuniary harm to an employee.³

When can an employee claim compensation for damage or harm?

The specific claims available depend on the nature of the interference and its consequences.

In the event of an unlawful interference with personality rights, the employee may seek cessation of the interference and removal of its consequences.¹³ This may include, for example, the cessation of unlawful monitoring of the employee.

If the employee has suffered harm, they may, subject to the applicable statutory requirements, also claim compensation for pecuniary damage and non-pecuniary harm. In the event of an interference with a person’s natural rights, mental suffering is also compensable, and non-pecuniary harm may be compensated in monetary form.¹⁴

In cases of discrimination and sexual harassment, the employee may seek cessation of the discrimination, removal of its consequences and appropriate satisfaction. Subject to the statutory requirements, monetary compensation for non-pecuniary harm may also be claimed.¹⁵

How should a complaint be submitted to the employer?

Although the law does not prescribe a specific form for such a complaint, for evidentiary purposes we recommend submitting it in writing.

The employee should describe as specifically as possible what happened, when and where the conduct occurred, who was responsible, whether there are any witnesses or other evidence, and what remedy the employee is seeking. It is advisable to state expressly that the complaint concerns the exercise of rights and obligations arising from the employment relationship and to request that it be duly discussed, including, where appropriate, at an in-person meeting.

What should employers pay attention to?

An employee complaint is not merely an informal HR matter. The employer has a statutory obligation to duly discuss it.

Employers should therefore have an effective procedure in place for receiving, investigating and discussing complaints, particularly those concerning discrimination, workplace bullying or sexual harassment. A proper and timely response can not only ensure compliance with the employer’s statutory obligations but also prevent the matter from escalating into regulatory or court proceedings.

If you are dealing with inappropriate conduct in the workplace, discrimination, harassment or another interference with your rights, or if, as an employer, you need advice on how to properly handle an employee complaint, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Footnotes

1. Section 276(9) of Act No. 262/2006 Coll., the Labour Code.
2. Section 316(2) of the Labour Code.
3. Cf. ŠTEFKO, Martin. Ochrana osobnosti zaměstnance ve světle aktuální judikatury [Protection of Employees’ Personality Rights in the Light of Current Case Law]. Bulletin advokacie, 2016, No. 10, p. 40 et seq.
4. Section 278(3) of the Labour Code. See also HŮRKA, Petr. § 276 [Právo zaměstnanců na informace a projednání]. In: HŮRKA, Petr, RANDLOVÁ, Nataša, STRÁNSKÝ, Jaroslav. Zákon o kolektivním vyjednávání. 1st ed. Prague: C. H. Beck, 2025, p. 190.
5. Section 278(4) of the Labour Code.
6. Judgment of the Czech Supreme Administrative Court, Case No. 4 Ads 9/2013.
7. JÍCHOVÁ, Leona. Sexuální obtěžování a jiné formy obtěžování na pracovišti [Sexual Harassment and Other Forms of Harassment in the Workplace]. Právní rozhledy, 2023, No. 9, p. 317 et seq.
8. Section 4(2) of Act No. 198/2009 Coll., the Anti-Discrimination Act; JÍCHOVÁ, op. cit.
9. Report of the Czech Public Defender of Rights dated 20 November 2018, File No. 2617/2017/VOP.
10. Section 346b(4) of the Labour Code.
11. Section 11(1)(c) and Section 11(2)(a) of Act No. 251/2005 Coll., on Labour Inspection.
12. Section 11(1)(d) and Section 11(2)(b) of the Labour Inspection Act.
13. Sections 81 et seq., in particular Section 82(1), of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code.
14. Sections 2956 and 2957 of the Civil Code.
15. Section 10 of Act No. 198/2009 Coll., the Anti-Discrimination Act.