Unemployment support applications now in English!
When in between jobs, you can apply for government support through the local Labour Office. You can register as an active job seeker and then apply for unemployment benefits if you worked for at least 12 months in the last two years. This support is available to holders of the Permanent Residence card, EU citizens and their family members, and also to NON-EU citizens with a long-term, work-related residence permit (typically an Employee card or Blue card). We explained non-EU citizens’ unemployment benefits in more detail here.
However, the Labour Office, like many other governmental authorities, uses Czech as the language of communication. Only a very few clerks are able to switch to English, let alone willing to do so. This, of course, applies to all their documents and forms too.
At the Brno Expat Centre, we still believe that you should learn at least some basic Czech to be more self-sufficient in the country. On the other hand, since we also know how much of a challenge that is, we offer a helping hand. We cannot make the clerks communicate in English, but we can make the forms do that.
And we have.
Download the English-friendly application forms
Below, you will find the application forms for the registration at the Labour Office and for the unemployment benefit translated into English. They follow the layout of the official forms to the smallest details and they provide detailed translation and explanation so you know what you are filling out and why.
- Download the registration for the Labour Office, EN >>
- Download the unemployment benefit application, EN >>
Remember that they are only our unofficial templates, you cannot submit them at the Labour Office. You are only supposed to use them side-by-side with the originals, to understand what you are filling into the official Czech version – the only version you can then hand in at the office. We strongly recommend doing this, instead of relying on machine translation (which often struggles with Czech formal sentences).
If you want to apply for the unemployment benefit, you have to fill up both forms and deliver several documents. You will find their list in our guide explaining how the government support for people without a job works. It is available here.
Now, all you need is a little bit of luck and you can manage the application without any of our intervention. Good luck and let us know how it went!
