Seeking employment and living conditions

Labour offices and employment agencies

Labour offices help jobseekers to improve their position when looking for new employment. Labour offices make it possible to search through the database of open positions. Employers must enter all open positions in the database by law.

When looking for work in the Czech Republic through an employment agency, it is important to make sure that the agency is holding a licence to tender recruitment services. No fee may be charged for arranging employment. The majority of agencies have their own websites, where you will find the necessary information and often current offerings for open positions as well.

Media and the Internet

Nationwide press in the CR often have a supplement published on a regular basis that attends to the employment issues and lists job offers. For example, newspapers such as Jobmaster, Avízo and Annonce include a jobs section.

Internet is a great source of jobs offers. Thanks to it, jobseekers can search for vacances offered. Furthermore, it allow people to post  their CV online.

Job applications

 
People who is interested in employment is declared by sending a curriculum vitae and a cover letter.

• Cover letter

This letter should be brief and to the point. The information which it contains should relate to the position you seek. You should indicate why you are interested in the position and briefly present your employment background. Some employers require documentation of your education and references from prior employers. Furthermore, in many cases, the employer will provide you with a questionnaire about your prodessional experience.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

A structured CV should be attached to your application, containing the following information in general:
1. Personal information: name, contact address, telephone, e-mail, date and place of birth, nationality.
2. Education, qualifications: this portion should contain information about your education, training sessions and courses in which you have taken part.
3. Work experience: this very important part of your CV contains a description of each of your prior positions.
4. Other qualifications: languages, computer literacy, driving
license and other certificates or training undertaken
5. Personal interests: here you should briefly described your personal interests and hobbies, especially insofar as they relate to the position in which you’re interested
6. References: here you should provide the names and contact information of former employers who may provide a reference about you.
The cover letter and the CV should both the written on a computer. Don’t forget to sign your CV.

  

   
Minimum wage

 
The minimum wage is the lowest allowable amount of
pay for work in an employment relationship.
The basic law is contained in the labour code. The basic
minimum wage for the designated 40–hour workweek is
CZK 8000 gross per month, or 48.10 CZK per hour.
The level of wages varies by region. Employees in Prague,
where the cost of living in terms of things like accommodation
are also highest, have the highest wages.


Social security


Every person working in the CR has social security insurance
through the Czech Social Security Administration.
Employers and employees participating in health
and retirement insurance, along with self-employed
persons and persons voluntarily contributing to retirement
insurance must pay insurance premiums.
Employers are legally bound to deduct social security
contributions from employee wages. 6.5 % is deducted
from the gross wage of employees for these purposes.
This system is designed to help people in situations
in which assistance is needed and it is provided in the
form of social benefits or access to special services.

Best Cities to live.

(Lic. plate)	Region	Administrative seat	Population(2004 est.)		Population(2010 est.)
A	Prague, the Capital City		Prague 1,170,571		1,251,072
B	Moravian-Silesian Region		Ostrava	1,257,554	1,244,837
C	South Moravian Region		Brno	1,123,201	1,152,819

                                                        Prague

                                                                                                                         
 Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the

 Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people. 

Prague has been a political, cultural and economic centre of Europe. 

Prague is home to a number of famous cultural attractions, 
 many of which survived the violence and destruction of twentieth century Europe:

                                                                         

Prague boasts more than ten major museums, along with countless theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. Also, Prague is home to a 

wide range of public and private schools,

  including the famous Charles University.

    Ostrava

                                                                                                           

Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region. 

Ostrava was candidate for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015.

It has two buildings: Divadlo Antonína named after Antonín Dvořák and Divadlo Jiřího Myrona.

 

Brno

                                                                                                                                         

Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia.

Brno is also an important centre of higher education, with 33 faculties of 13 universities.

The most important sights of the city include the castle and fortress Špilberk and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul on Petrov hill, these two formerly medieval buildings form the characteristic cityscape and are often depicted as its traditional symbols. The other large and preserved castle in the city is Veveří Castle near the Brno Dam Lake this castle is a subject for a couple of legends like a number of other places in Brno.

Culture

Architecture

Czech Republic stands out in architecture. There are 12 historic monuments of cultural interest in the Czech Republic entered in the UNESCO World Heritage List. One of them is that.

Prague Castle

According to the Guinness Book of World Records,Prague Castle is the largest on earth.

Literature

Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, was an important cultural center in Europe before the Communist era.

The most famous writer is Franz Kafk, who have made an important roll on the 20th century literature. He is the author of metamorphosis.

In poetry stand out Jaroslav Seifert, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1984.

Franz Kafk

Music

Lots of concerts of classical music are organized in Prague during the year. The environments are varied, from ancient churches to beautiful venues such as the Smetana Hall, home of the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Smetana Hall

Concerts are also held regularly at the National Gallery of Prague Castle, the gardens, near the Castle and the National Museum in Wenceslas Square. Bertramka concerts, often have Mozart and his contemporaries as protagonists. Several Czech soloists and orchestras are renowned abroad. The best known is the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra but also are popular Orchestra Czech Radio Symphony, the chorus of the Teatro Smetana, the group Musica Antiqua of Prague and the Prague Quartet.
It is curious Jewish Music Festival held in October and November in the Jewish Quarter.

Apart from its famous musicians and composers, music in the Czech Republic is a key aspect of popular culture with numerous festivals among which the Prague Spring, which brings together major international performers. Czech Republic is a country in which the holidays are almost constant, with a large number of festive events. 

 

 Opera

In addition, Prague has a deep tradition of opera. Operas are often sing in Czech and the repertoire usually starring national composers: Janacek, Dvorak and Smetana.

 Food and drink

The traditional cuisine of the Czech Republic is associated with the cuisine of southwestern Germany and the Austrian cuisine.  

Czech cuisine is varied. The pig is very common in the dishes. In addition, little by little beef and chicken are becoming a niche in modern cuisine. The goose, duck, rabbit and other wild animals appear with some frequency in Czech dishes. The fish is reserved for Christmas.

The traditional dish is the roast pork with pasta and cabbage.

 

Roast pork with pasta and cabbage

 Sweets and desserts

A typical dessert at Christmas and Easter is pasta fruits with caramel.

 

  

Drinks

Czech beers are well known. The most popular are pilsner. There are world-renowned brands such as Pilsner Urquell or Budvar.

  

There is also a wine production in certain areas of the Czech Republic. The most famous are the wines of the north of Prague.

History

The Boii, Celtic tribe

Some of the oldest settlers of the Czech lands were the Boii, a Celtic tribe that inhabited the region from around the 4th century BC and gave Bohemia its name. The Celts were later replaced by Germanic tribes, and around the 6th century AD, the Slavs finally reached the territory from the east. In the 7th century, a Frankish merchant Sámo succeeded in uniting the Slavic tribes under his empire and defeating the tribe of the Avars that occupied today's Hungary.


Around 830, the Great Moravian Empire was established along the Morava River by the Slavic leader Mojmír. Mojmír's successors expanded the empire to include today's Bohemia, Slovakia, southern Poland and western Hungary. The empire found itself at the crossroads between the Germanic people in the west and the Byzantium in the east. Mojmír's successor Rostislav feared the German influence and asked the Byzantine emperor to send two missionaries, Cyril and Methodius of Constantinople, to come and spread Eastern Christianity in the Great Moravian Empire. 


Cyril and Methodius created the Slavonic script (Cyrillic alphabet that is still in use in Russia and Bulgaria) and translated religious texts from Greek and Latin into the Old Slavonic language. After Methodius' death in 885, the Roman Catholic religion was adopted and the Cyrillic script was replaced by the Latin alphabet. The Great Moravian Empire collapsed with the Hungarian invasion in 907.

Prince Vrastislav II

The rule over the region was now in the hands of the Přemyslid dynasty that dominated the Czech lands from the 9th century until 1306. Around 880, the Prague Castle was founded by prince Bořivoj, the first of the Přemyslid princes, and the seat of power was moved there. Several churches, such as the St. Vitus rotunda, were built and foundations were laid to the Vyšehrad Castle in the 10th century. The Prague bishopric was founded in 973. The Czech lands had a high economic, cultural, and political status during the Přemyslid rule, which was further strengthened by Vratislav II being granted the royal crown and becoming the first Czech king in 1085 - so far remaining subordinate to the Holy Roman Empire and the German king, with the royal title being made hereditary in 1212 by the Golden Sicilian Bull.





In the meantime, Prague was growing rapidly thanks to its position at the crossroads of several trade routes. The first stone bridge over the Vltava, Judith Bridge, was built in 1172. The Old Town (Staré město) was founded in 1234 and the Lesser Town (Malá Strana) was founded in 1257. During the reign of Přemysl Otakar II in mid-13th century, the Czech kingdom briefly expanded all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The Přemyslid dynasty ended with the death of its last member, Wenceslas III, in 1306.

Judith bridge

During the thousand years of its existence, the city of Prague grew from a settlement stretching from Prague Castle in the north to the fort of Vyšehrad in the south, becoming the multicultural capital of a modern European state, the Czech 

Republic, a member state of the European Union.

Politics

• Political system

 Politically, the Czech Republic is a multi-party parliamentary representative democratic republic. According to the Constitution of the Czech Republic, the President is the head of state while the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising supreme executive power. The Legislature is bicameral, with the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

Parliament

The Czech political scene supports a broad spectrum of parties ranging from Communist Party on the far left to various nationalistic parties on the extreme right.

Shield

The power is divided into three branches: legislative (Parliament), executive (Government  and the Presidency) and the judiciary (Courts).

• Legislative branch 

Every citizen of the Czech Republic over 18 years is entitled to vote.

Chamber of Deputies

The Chamber of Deputies has 200 deputies who are elected in elections for a period of four years. The election system is based on the principles of proportional representation.
Deputies are elected as representatives of their respective political parties and after being elected, the parties create clubs of deputies in the Chamber.

 Senate

The Senate was founded in 1996. For a period of six years, eighty one senators are elected  according to the principles of majority electoral system. Elections are held every two years to elect a third of new senators. Every citizen of the Czech Republic  over 40 years may be elected to the Senate.
The Senate is intended as a counterweight to the Chamber of Deputies, and as an element of continuity of the Parliament if the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved.

• Executive branch

The representatives of the executive branch of state are the Government and the President of the Republic.

Government

The Government is the supreme body of executive power. Besides the Government, also the ministries and other bodies are part of the management executive.
The activity of the government relies on the government program with which the Prime Minister appears before the Chamber of Deputies. If they approve the program and its members express confidence in the government in a vote, the government can begin its activities and use its powers.

President

The President is the head of the State and also of the armed forces. Deputies and senators elect the President in a joint session. The election is held once every five years. The term of office begins on the day that makes the promise.

The president has specific powers, for example, to return laws to the parliament, nominate Constitutional Court judges for Senate's approval and dissolve the parliament under certain special and rare conditions.  He also appoints the prime minister as well the other members of the cabinet.

  

• Judicial branch

Judicial power is exercised by the courts. The court system consists of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, high courts, regional and district levels.
The Constitutional Court enforces the Constitution. It is composed of 15 judges who are appointed for a period of ten years.

Education

Education in Czech Republic is divided into:

Preschool Education

The preschool education for children aged 3 to 6 is usually provided by kindergarten.

  
Basic education 


Basic education is composed of nine grades and it is broken down into 2 levels. The first level (grades 1–5) takes place at basic schools and the second level (grades 6–9) takes place at the senior level of a basic school or in the junior grades of a grammar school  or at an eight-year conservatory.

Compulsory School Attendance


Children are required to attend school from ages 6–15. The required schooling takes place at a basic school, the junior grades of a grammar school or at a conservatory. Regional authorities are obliged to arrange for the free preparation for entering basic education system for children of EU citizens, including teaching of the Czech language.

                                                                                 Secondary education

 Secondary educational programs are divided as follows:
Secondary education with school-leaving exam (4 years) prepares students for work demanding higher qualifications or study at the tertiary level, and is completed with a school-leaving examination.

Secondary education with a vocational certificate (2–3 years) prepares students for qualified activities, primarily of a manual labour nature. The programme ends with a final exam and the receipt of a vocational certificate. Students
who complete this type of programme can enter follow-up courses and receive a  certificate.
Secondary education (1 or 2 years) – this programme is designed for students with special educational needs. The programme ends with a final examination.
Types of secondary schools: grammar school, secondary technical school and secondary vocational school. All courses are taught in the Czech language but there are schools that offer bi-lingual courses.

University education

The higher education system is provided at three levels:

The bachelor’s degree program (3–4 years) focuses on preparing for a profession or studying in a related master’s degree program and terminates with the state exam.

Master’s Programme (1– 3 years, as a follow-up to a Bachelor’s Programme or 4 – 6 years, when completed as a standalone Master’s Programme). This programme focuses on theoretical knowledge and it is completed with a final state examination (or a rigorous examination), part of which is the defense of a thesis.

The doctoral program (3 – 4 years) is designed for graduates of masters degree programs and terminates with the state doctoral exam and defence of the dissertation.

Some colleges and universities offer courses taught in foreign languages, mainly in English or German.