Czech Republic/ 5.1 General legislation  

5.1.4 Social security frameworks

Artists who are employed are entitled to social security like every other employee. This means that they pay health and social insurance (e.g. maternity benefits are consequently paid from social insurance) as well as pension insurance. In the case of unemployment, the unemployment benefits are paid to the person from insurance contributions.

Artists, authors or self-employed persons who receive a wage must pay health and social insurance from a fixed amount of income. Social insurance is divided into two payments: sickness and pension insurance. Sickness insurance is voluntary and the artist can pay for it but it is not compulsory. Those without sickness insurance are not entitled to get sickness benefits and maternity benefits. Since 1 January 2009, all artists must pay pension insurance because each job they do is considered to be part of continuous employment, according to the amendment of the Act on Pension Insurance. Artists did not have to pay pension insurance until the end of 2008 as they claimed that their employment was not continuous. Royalties for contributions to newspapers, radio and television are exempted when the monthly income does not exceed the certain limit defined by the Law on Income Tax. When an artist is unemployed, the unemployment benefit is paid from the contribution to state unemployment policy. All citizens including artists pay the contribution to state unemployment policy in their pension insurance.

Act No. 592/1992 Coll. on premiums for health insurance states in detail the amount of the insurance rate (assessed base, determination period, payments for employees, for self-employed people); Act No. 589/1992 Coll. on social security contributions and contribution to the state employment policy regulates the contribution to pension and sickness insurance and the contribution to the state employment policy; Act No. 187/2006 Coll. on sickness insurance regulates the system of sickness insurance and the Act No. 155/1995 Coll. on pension insurance modifies new duties for artists – authors.

See also comparative information provided in the Compendium "Themes!" section under "Status of Artists".

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