From January 2025, a legislative change is expected to enable employers to provide greater support to employees’ physical and mental health. Newly, companies will be able to take tax benefits for health benefits up to the average wage!
Lawmakers have listened to the voices of workers, employers and experts and proposed legislative changes to promote better care for the physical and mental health of workers. The topic of health promotion is becoming more and more topical, as shown by the representative Up Czech Republic Employee Barometer. The survey, which addressed over a thousand employees of Czech companies, revealed that many workers do not feel physically or mentally well. This gives companies an ideal opportunity to intervene and bring effective help. And from January 2025, this opportunity will be even more widespread!
Barometer reveals a weakness: employee health
The survey also focused on the physical and mental health of Czech employees. Among the worrying results is the finding that only 5% of employees feel physically well. On the other hand, it is positive that up to 93% of workers are ready to change their approach to physical health care, which shows a willingness to seek improvements.
Mental health has proved to be an even more neglected area. Half of the survey respondents said their employer completely neglected mental health care. This is a great loss, because employees not only need care, but are also interested in it. Almost 40% of respondents admitted that work has a negative impact on their mental health, manifested for example by stress, tension or weakened mental resilience.
Legislative change will benefit everyone
If the draft amendment passes the Senate and is signed by the President, companies could newly use tax benefits to support employee health up to the average wage, which for 2025 is CZK 46 557. And it is definitely a shame not to take advantage of it. Employees will get effective help and companies will not only get healthy and satisfied employees, but also prestige and reputation on the labour market. The existing possibility of using leisure benefits in other categories (sport, culture, education, books and recreation) remains, as does their tax advantage up to half of the average wage.
Support employee health with eBenefits
How can companies take advantage of this new tax benefit? The easiest way is through modern employee eBenefity. These take the form of an employee cafeteria, where employees can choose the leisure activity that suits them best and supports their physical or mental health.
Compared to their paper version, eBenefits do not burden the HR department with lengthy administration, and thanks to the Můj Up app, companies and employees gain many additional benefits and functionalities to support company culture and internal communication.
