The state subsidy for businesses employing staff with disabilities will rise by CZK 1,500 to CZK 15,700 from April, based on a directive proposed by Labour Minister Marian Jurecka (KDU-CSL) and approved by the cabinet on Wednesday.
According to the documents accompanying the directive, an additional CZK 1.4 billion will be needed this year alone to fund the subsidy increase. Employers have repeatedly requested the rise, pointing to the rising minimum wage and other costs, and warning of possible lay-offs of workers with disabilities.
The last increase in the subsidy was 600 crowns in October 2022.
The subsidy is paid to companies with over half their staff having disabilities, whose performance is usually limited. The state thus contributes to their earnings. Companies can receive three-quarters of the wage costs, capped until now at CZK 14,200. In addition to this, they can receive a lump sum of CZK 1,000 for operating costs.
Since January, the minimum monthly wage in the Czech Republic has stood at CZK 18,900.
The Labour Ministry says the proportion of the subsidy to the minimum wage has been gradually decreasing, from 80% in 2018 to 66% last year. “It is therefore clear that employers’ contribution to wage costs related to the employment of disabled people in the protected labour market continues to increase,” the ministry said. Thus, it said, without an increase in the subsidy, there was a risk that the employment of people with disabilities could decrease.
The state paid CZK 10.85 billion in such subsidies last year to around 3,800 companies, supporting a total of 70,500 workers. In 2022, the expenditure was CZK 10 billion, shared by 3,800 companies for 68,300 employees. In 2018, CZK 6.8 billion went to 3,400 firms in the protected labour market for 55,100 workers.
