Can I refuse a breathalyser at work in Czechia?
You may not refuse — but refusing does not make you automatically drunk. An employee must submit to testing for alcohol and other addictive substances on the instruction of an authorised manager (Labour Code § 106(4)). Refusal breaches your duties — yet under case law no fiction of intoxication applies to someone who refuses, and refusal alone usually does not justify immediate termination: intensity, repetition and the type of work all get weighed. The underlying workplace alcohol ban is strict — no drinking during working hours and no arriving under the influence — and the limit is zero, so even residual alcohol from last night is a breach. For drivers and crane operators a positive test normally ends in dismissal.
📋 The rules
- Ordered test: duty to submit (§ 106(4))
- Refusal = duty breach (but no intoxication fiction)
- Refusal alone ≠ automatic instant dismissal (case law)
- Alcohol banned during work and on arrival under the influence
- Risk professions: positive test = fundamental breach (dismissal)
🔓 Exceptions
- Tasting professions (brewers, sommeliers): proportionate exemptions
- Beer with canteen meals where internal rules expressly allow it (a rarity)
- Refusing a test: a duty breach, but it creates no presumption that you were under the influence
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Refusing a test and testing positive are both duty breaches, and the consequence scales with intensity: it starts with a written warning, moves to dismissal under § 52(g), and in grave circumstances — a driver under the influence — ends in immediate termination without severance. The regional hygiene station can add a fine under Act 65/2017 on top. What people do not expect is that the job matters more than the reading: an office clerk blowing 0.1 per mille gets a warning, a crane operator with the same figure is gone. And immediate termination takes effect the day it is delivered.
📎 Official sources
- Právní prostor · Alcohol and refusing checks (CS) →
- Advokátní deník · Case law on refused tests (CS) →
- BezpečnostPráce.info · Workplace alcohol FAQ (CS) →
❓ Frequently asked
Who may order a breath test?
An authorised manager designated by the employer's internal rules, and for transport professions also the police and other authorities. An instruction from anyone else creates no duty for you to submit to a test.
What if I blow 0.1 per mille?
The ban is zero, so even a minimal reading is a breach of duty. The consequence depends on your position and its risk: for an office worker it means a reprimand, for a crane operator or driver immediate consequences.
Can they fire me on the spot for refusing?
Usually not — courts require an assessment of how serious the breach was, and refusal alone creates no fiction of intoxication. It is still a breach, though, and repeating it builds towards dismissal under § 52(g).
Does the ban cover home office?
Sobriety attaches to performing work, so formally yes, even at home. Checking is practically and legally limited, though — the employer will not turn up at your door with a breathalyser and cannot test you there.
What about residual alcohol from the night before?
The ban is zero and does not care when you drank — what counts is the reading when you start work. Morning residual alcohol is the same breach as drinking on shift, with hard consequences in risk professions.
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