When a company needs to cover occasional work — seasonal help, a one-off project or the odd shift — it does not have to reach straight for a full employment contract. The Czech Labour Code recognises agreements outside the employment relationship, and the most common of them is the agreement to perform work (dohoda o provedení práce, DPP). It is simple to administer, flexible and, at lower pay, advantageous for both sides. It does, however, carry limits that the employer — usually the managing director in an s.r.o. — has to watch alone.

On top of that, the DPP has gone through arguably the biggest changes of any form of employment in the past two years. The threshold below which no insurance is paid has moved, a reporting duty towards the Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ) has been added, and some announced changes were cancelled before they took effect. The overview below sums up what applies for 2026 and what to watch out for when working on this kind of agreement.

What the DPP is and how it differs from employment

The agreement to perform work is a contract outside the employment relationship, governed by Section 75 of the Labour Code. It is concluded in writing, can be agreed for a specific task or for recurring help, and is far lighter on administration than an employment contract. Even so, the guaranteed minimum hourly rate applies, and since 2024 an entitlement to paid leave arises once the statutory conditions are met.

For the employer, the main draw is flexibility: the agreement can be set up quickly, is easier to end than an employment relationship, and below the statutory threshold no social or health insurance is due. Yet that threshold and the annual hours cap are the two lines that decide whether a DPP is genuinely worthwhile.

The 300-hour annual limit per employer

On a single agreement to perform work, a person may work at most 300 hours per calendar year for one employer. The limit is counted in aggregate — if you sign several such agreements with the same person during the year, the hours add up. With a different employer, however, the same worker has a fresh, separate 300 hours available, because the limit is assessed per employer.

For example: someone who has worked 300 hours for you since spring cannot be kept on a DPP for the rest of the year. If you need to continue, the answer is a different form — an agreement to complete a job (DPČ) or an employment contract. Exceeding the cap is not a formality: an agreement for more than 300 hours is invalid, and the arrangement may be treated as a disguised employment relationship.

The monthly threshold for contributions and withholding tax

The second line is the level of pay. For 2026 the decisive monthly figure is CZK 12,000 (equal to 25% of the average wage, rounded down to the nearest 500). As long as gross monthly pay from a DPP with one employer stays below CZK 12,000 — that is, up to CZK 11,999 inclusive — no social or health insurance is paid on it. Once the pay reaches or exceeds that figure, contributions are due on the whole amount.

Tax works in a similar way. If the worker has not signed a taxpayer's declaration with the employer and the pay stays below the decisive figure, it is taxed by a 15% withholding tax — the employer deducts it and the worker no longer has to deal with it in a return. If the declaration is signed, an advance tax applies instead, but the worker can then claim tax reliefs, so at lower pay levels they often owe nothing.

With the correct calculation of contributions, withholding tax and the monthly reports for people on agreements, you can rely on Wellbens.

What has changed on the DPP in recent years

Until recently the insurance threshold was a fixed CZK 10,000 a month. Since 2025 it has been tied to the average wage, so it moves each year — in 2025 it stood at CZK 11,500 and for 2026 it has risen to CZK 12,000. The more complex "notified agreement" regime originally announced, with a higher limit at one chosen employer, was in fact scrapped before it ever took effect, so in practice there is a single, clear threshold.

The bigger administrative change is the reporting duty. Since mid-2024 the employer must register every agreement to perform work with the ČSSZ — its start, any change and its end — regardless of the level of pay, and file a monthly statement of income from agreements. From April 2026 this report is merged into a single Unified Monthly Employer Report, filed by the 20th of the following month. The DPP is therefore no longer "invisible" — the authorities know about it from the outset.

What to watch out for as an employer

Most trouble with these agreements arises not from bad intent but from an overlooked limit. Before you take someone on under a DPP, run through a few points:

  • Track the total hours worked — at most 300 per year with one employer.
  • Keep an eye on monthly pay against the CZK 12,000 threshold; reaching it triggers contributions on the whole amount.
  • Register the agreement with the ČSSZ and file the monthly report on time.
  • Consider whether the work is in fact permanent and dependent — if so, a DPP is not enough.

That last point matters most. If the agreement conceals a permanent, day-to-day, subordinate relationship, it risks being assessed as the švarcsystém, with penalties. The DPP is a tool for occasional and supplementary work — for your first permanent worker it makes sense to look instead at proper employment, or at working with contractors where that genuinely fits.

Conclusion

The agreement to perform work remains, in 2026, the most flexible way to cover temporary work — but you have to keep hold of two lines and one duty: 300 hours a year with one employer, monthly pay below CZK 12,000, and timely reporting of every agreement to the ČSSZ. When those three things line up, the DPP is simple and cheap. When they are overlooked, the advantage turns into an unwelcome bill.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours can be worked on a DPP in 2026?

On an agreement to perform work, a person may work at most 300 hours per calendar year for one employer. If you sign several agreements with the same person, the hours add up. With a different employer, though, the worker has a fresh, separate 300 hours available, because the limit is assessed per employer. An agreement concluded above this limit is invalid.

Up to what pay is a DPP free of insurance contributions?

For 2026 the decisive monthly figure is CZK 12,000, equal to 25% of the average wage. As long as gross monthly pay with one employer stays below CZK 12,000 — up to CZK 11,999 inclusive — no social or health insurance is paid on it. Once the pay reaches or exceeds that figure, contributions are due on the whole amount. Compared with 2025, when the threshold was CZK 11,500, this is a move upwards.

Does the employer have to report a DPP to the authorities?

Yes. Since mid-2024 the employer must register every agreement to perform work with the ČSSZ — its start, any change and its end — regardless of the level of pay. It also files a monthly statement of income from agreements. From April 2026 this report is merged into a single Unified Monthly Employer Report, filed by the 20th of the following month.