Job Discussion Forums

mr.cheeks · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 15 Location: Phnom Penh

Hello, i have been teaching English in Thailand for around 3 years and have saved up enough money to go to Prague and do my TEFL course.

After booking the course however i have now found out that having a couple of minor convictions (Affray - Community Service and Criminal Damage - Fine) may rule me out to work at all in the Czech Republic. Obviously a criminal records check was never asked for in Thailand so i'm pretty peeved to have just learnt this.

Are there any countries in the region where i may still be able to find work? Is it impossible to work in the Czech Republic with these not so serious convictions?

My convictions were from 7 and 9 years ago. I have really enjoyed my teaching experience and would like to continue in central and eastern Europe.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Kofola · Joined: 20 Feb 2009 Posts: 159 Location: Slovakia

Hard to say without knowing your nationality i.e. EU or non-EU.

mr.cheeks · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 15 Location: Phnom Penh

I'm an EU national

Kofola · Joined: 20 Feb 2009 Posts: 159 Location: Slovakia

As far as I know you should be OK in the Czech Republic. As an EU citizen you don't need to register for residency and can work without a permit. Even if you do register, I am pretty sure they don't ask for your criminal record. Working with children could be an issue (although I don't know about this one and it prob depends on the offences). The one thing that could be a problem is setting yourself up as a freelancer as a criminal extract is definitely required for that. However, I'm pretty sure only the last 5 years count. If you worked for an employer it wouldn't be an issue.

The same applies in Slovakia.

mr.cheeks · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 15 Location: Phnom Penh

Kofola · Joined: 20 Feb 2009 Posts: 159 Location: Slovakia

I meant that by law employers don't require a criminal record extract in order to be able to employ you, whereas if you are self-employed you need a clean criminal record in order to be able to obtain a licence. Therefore if you work for an employer your record shouldn't be an issue ever (apart from kids possibly but don't know about that).

If you wanted to set yourself up as self-employed it might matter as I'm not sure if the five year limit applies to CR, since I am actually in Slovakia (where there is a 5 year limit) and a quick google didn't turn up that info.

Some nice Czenglish for you http://www.praha.eu/jnp/en/life_in_prague/business/trading/obtaining_a_licence/index.html

But doesn't seem to mention limits.

Basically if you are not considering freelancing your record isn't an issue.

mr.cheeks · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 15 Location: Phnom Penh

Thanks Kofola, that helps.

I believe that is is only possible to have ONE employer in total without a trade license. Is this correct?

How do wages compare between Slovakia and Czech Republic too?

Thanks again.

Kofola · Joined: 20 Feb 2009 Posts: 159 Location: Slovakia

Hi,

Actually it is possible to have more than one employer and not have a trade licence. You can work on a Dohoda o provedení práce (roughly equivalent to a British contract for work in the sense that you are contracted per job rather than having a contract of employment - legally,however, quite different) and you can have one with any number of employers up to 10,000 czech crowns per annum per employer. But it is of course more complicated than just having one full-time employer and you don't get the same benefits. Prob wouldn't recommend for a newcomer, but depends on the situation.

Salaries are lower in Slovakia, but the gap is closing. This is partly due to non-euro currencies being hit of late, but also because the Slovak economy is doing well due to the booming car industry for example. The average Czech salary last year was 979 euros per month gross compared to 782 euros in Slovakia. Prague is very expensive compared to Slovakia, but other towns are comparable and sometimes cheaper.

mr.cheeks · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 15 Location: Phnom Penh

Thanks a lot for your reply again.

I guess i'm going to have to see what happens when i get there.

Wish me luck!

Czexpat · Joined: 14 Aug 2011 Posts: 42

You will find it hard to get taken on as an employee, but will be able to get some work on the DPP contracts but, as stated above, they are only good up to 10,000kc per month, meaning you'll need to get more than one of them to make a reasonable income.

Remember, you'll also need to pay health and social insurance.

I'm not sure if convictions are time barred after 5 years but you definitely need that declaration to get a business licence. The process is quite easy and you can get one from any place that has a Czechpoint sign.

I know people who are still working off multiple DPPs but I wouldn't recommend it, if there was any alternative.