Ministries offering employees part-time jobs to save money

In anticipation of next year’s cost cutting measures, some ministries have started offering their employees part-time jobs. All ministries will have to implement a 10 percent cut in expenditures, including salaries, which means either laying off staff or introducing a job-sharing scheme where possible. Until now, Czech employers have been generally unwilling to hire people on a part time basis, despite interest from mothers on maternity leave. Consequently only 5.5 percent of Czechs currently work on a part time basis, as compared to an EU average of 18.7percent.