Czech for work:
from job ad to holiday

Short answer. The key Czech phrases for work are Dobrý den, volám kvůli inzerátu na práci. (hello, I'm calling about the job advert), Pracuji na plný úvazek. (I work full-time) and V srpnu mám dovolenou. (I'm on holiday in August); this page has 26 phrases, from the job ad and contract to shifts and sick leave. A side job is a brigáda: say Hledám brigádu if that is what you want, or Hledám práci for a permanent job.

You will need Czech at work sooner than you think. Job ads are in Czech, the person who picks up the phone speaks Czech, and the contract is in Czech too. Even if your team speaks your language, the manager, payroll and HR usually speak only Czech. The good news is that work conversations repeat themselves. Calling about an ad, arranging a meeting, asking about shifts and pay, letting someone know you are running late or ill: that is a few dozen phrases, and you can learn them in advance.

Below, the phrases follow the steps: finding a job, contract and pay, shifts and the working day, then holidays, sickness and leaving. All of them come from Talkfirst's Czech decks, so you can practise them out loud straight away. Basics like "I don't understand" and "could you repeat that" are in Czech for beginners: essential phrases, and on the phone or at an interview you will need them first.

Phrases for work

Finding a job

Contract and pay

Shifts and working hours

Leave, sickness, quitting

An employer almost always addresses you formally, so you will hear vám in their phrases: Hodí se vám to?, Ozvu se vám. Colleagues switch to the informal "you" fairly quickly, but it is usually the older person or the boss who offers it first. The word vedoucí works for a male or a female manager, and a female colleague is a kolegyně.

Dialogue: a job interview

The interviewer's lines come from the "Job interview" scene that Talkfirst's AI conversation partner plays out with you, out loud. Your answers are short and simple: at an interview it matters more to answer clearly and without long pauses than to sound sophisticated. The last line is your own questions, and it is worth preparing them in advance.

Tips: how work works in Czechia

Find out what kind of contract you have. A standard employment contract is a pracovní smlouva. There are also two kinds of agreements for smaller amounts of work: dohoda o provedení práce (DPP) and dohoda o pracovní činnosti (DPČ). The type of contract affects insurance, holidays and how the job can end, so ask directly: Jakou smlouvu dostanu?

A brigáda is a side job. Czechs use the word for any temporary or part-time work: a summer in a warehouse, weekends in a café, a season in a hotel. You will hear it all the time, especially from students. If you want a side job, say Hledám brigádu; for a permanent job, Hledám práci.

Pay usually comes once a month. Your výplata for the previous month arrives in your account on a set day, which is stated in the contract or the company's internal rules. It is fine to ask at the interview how much you will earn and when it is paid, and better to do it before you sign than to guess later.

The probation period is the zkušební doba. It is written into the contract. While it lasts, both you and the employer can end the job more easily than later on. So in the first weeks it matters even more to turn up on time and flag problems straight away.

Sick notes are electronic. If you fall ill, see your doctor: they issue the neschopenka electronically, and your employer is notified through the system. Still, call your manager and say you are ill on the same day. For talking to the doctor, see the at the doctor's phrasebook.

Self-employment and permits. To work for yourself rather than as an employee you need a živnostenské oprávnění (still often called živnostenský list or živnosťák), a trade licence. Whether and on what terms a foreigner can work depends on your type of residence: check with your employer or on the official website of the Czech Ministry of the Interior, not on forums.

How to learn these phrases

There is no phonetic respelling here on purpose; the phrasebook hub explains why. Czech is read almost exactly as it is written: spend one evening on the reading rules in the beginner's guide, then play the phrases on flashcards and repeat them out loud. Learn them whole and swap the details: Mám ranní směnu od šesti easily becomes Mám odpolední směnu od dvou, and Hledám práci ve skladu becomes Hledám práci v kavárně. Start with "Finding a job": calling about an ad is the first conversation you will have to get through.

Questions and answers