This page is for people who worked in Czechia and lost their job, or who want to know their rights in advance. The amounts are for applications filed in 2026.
Who is entitled to the benefit?
Someone who is registered as a job seeker (uchazeč o zaměstnání) at Úřad práce, has asked for the benefit there and does not receive an old-age pension. The main condition concerns insurance periods: in the last 2 years before registration you need at least 12 months of pension insurance from work or self-employment.
Some periods without work also count toward these 12 months, including:
- personal care for a child under 4;
- care for a person who depends on help (degrees II–IV);
- receiving a third-degree disability pension;
- long-term volunteering or civilian service of at least 20 hours a week;
- temporary incapacity for work after the job ended.
Time when you were already registered as a job seeker and short-term work do not count. You will not get the benefit, among other cases, if in the last 6 months you were dismissed for a particularly serious breach of your duties.
Will your Ukrainian insurance periods count?
Yes, under the agreement between Czechia and Ukraine on social security: for the right to unemployment benefit, the insurance periods of both countries are taken into account if they do not overlap (Article 26). The amount of the benefit is calculated only from the earnings in your last job in the country that pays.
The same agreement says that unemployment benefit is paid by the country where the person has permanent residence (Article 27). For the purposes of the Employment Act, temporary protection holders are treated as people with permanent residence in Czechia (§ 2 of Act 66/2022 Sb.; Sb. stands for Sbírka zákonů, the official Collection of Laws of the Czech Republic). However, it has not been officially explained whether Úřad práce applies this article of the agreement to them. Get a certificate of your insurance periods from Ukraine and check this with your Úřad práce office.
Can temporary protection holders get it?
Yes. Úřad práce writes directly that protection holders can register as job seekers. On its frequently asked questions page, which also answers protection holders, it explains that a registered job seeker can ask for the monthly unemployment benefit under the general conditions of the Employment Act (§ 39). For this act, protection holders are treated as foreigners with permanent residence, and foreigners use it on the same terms as citizens.
For employee card holders, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MPSV) states explicitly: they can register as job seekers and receive the benefit while they look for a new employer.
How much is paid?
The benefit is calculated as a percentage of your average net monthly earnings in your last job; for self-employed people, from the last assessment base for contributions. From 1 January 2026 the percentages are:
| Age on the day of application | 80% of earnings | 50% of earnings | 40% of earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 52 | First 2 months | Next 2 months | Rest of the period |
| Over 52 | First 3 months | Next 3 months | Rest of the period |
The maximum in 2026 is 38,537 Kč a month: this is 0.8 of the average wage for the first three quarters of 2025 (48,171 Kč). For applications filed in 2027, the maximum will be calculated from the average wage for the first three quarters of 2026; it has not been published yet.
If your earnings cannot be determined, for example when only periods without work give you the right to the benefit, a fixed share of the average wage is paid. By our calculation, for applications in 2026 this is 19,269 Kč a month in the first 2 months (3 months for people over 52), then 9,635 Kč for the same number of months, and after that 7,226 Kč.
From 1 January 2026 the benefit is not reduced if you quit yourself or left by agreement: before, 45% was paid in that case.
How long is it paid?
The duration depends on your age on the day of application:
| Age on the day of application | Duration |
|---|---|
| Up to 52 | 5 months |
| Over 52 and up to 57 | 8 months |
| Over 57 | 11 months |
Before 2026 the age limits were 50 and 55.
How do you apply?
First file an application for job placement: Úřad práce writes that you cannot file a separate application “only for the benefit”. The application for the benefit is filed together with it.
Deadlines:
- you are registered from the day of your written application;
- if you apply no later than 3 working days after your job ends, the registration and the benefit count from the day after your job ended.
You can apply:
- online in the Jenda client zone with Identita občana or bank identity;
- in person at an office of Úřad práce, where staff will help you fill in the application;
- at selected Czech Post offices, also with help.
Úřad práce takes the data on the type and length of your work, your insurance periods, average earnings and the reason your job ended from the employer’s monthly reports (JMHZ). What the office cannot get itself, you prove with documents, for example a certificate from your job. Since January 2024, severance pay from the employer no longer delays the start of payments.
Benefit cases that started before 1 January 2026 and were not finished by that date are completed under the old rules.
Can you work on the side while receiving the benefit?
Yes, but with limits, and no benefit is paid for that time. A job seeker can work under an employment contract or an agreement to perform work (DPČ) if the monthly earnings do not exceed half of the minimum wage, which is 11,200 Kč in 2026. You must tell Úřad práce about such a side job in the application or no later than the day you start it. You cannot work under an agreement to complete a job (DPP) at all while you are registered. While the side job lasts, the benefit is not paid, and this time does not count toward the payment period.
What happens if you lose your job again?
If you did not use up the whole benefit period, from 1 January 2026, 9 months of new work restore the full period (before, 6 were enough); if you worked less, you will get only the remainder. If you used up the whole period, for a new benefit you need 9 months of insured work after it ended. The exceptions are when the work ended because of your health, because of a serious breach by the employer or for organizational reasons: the employer closed, moved or cut your position. The condition of 12 months of insurance in 2 years applies in both cases.
What else does registration at Úřad práce give you?
- Health insurance. The state pays the insurance for registered job seekers, including protection holders after the 90 or 150 days of state-paid insurance have ended. Show the registration certificate at your health insurance company.
- Retraining. During retraining, 80% of your previous net earnings is paid: for retraining arranged by Úřad práce, for its whole duration, and for retraining you choose yourself (since 1 January 2026), for the days you attend the course.
- Czech courses. Úřad práce refers people to them, although the support criteria changed in 2026.
- Humanitarian benefit. Registration as a job seeker allows housing costs outside registered apartments to be counted; more on the page Humanitarian benefit and other payments to Ukrainians in Czechia.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Applying more than 3 working days late: the benefit will be counted only from the day of application.
- Asking only for the benefit without registering as a job seeker.
- Working on the side for more than half of the minimum wage or under a DPP agreement.
- Taking amounts from 2025 materials: back then 65%, 50% and 45% applied, with a lower maximum.