Minimum wage
For 2026 the minimum wage is a single value for the whole year — with no half-year split — covering both the minimum monthly wage and the minimum hourly rate. The minimum wage is also the minimum assessment base for health insurance. The amounts shown are those in force for 2026.
The 2026 minimum wage
Czechia has a statutory minimum wage, and for 2026 it is a single value for the whole year — there is no mid-year or half-year step. The minimum monthly wage is 22 400 Kč, and the minimum hourly rate is 134,40 Kč, both set for a standard 40-hour week by the responsible ministry (the MPSV). These are gross figures, before insurance and tax.
| Minimum wage 2026 (gross) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Per month (40-hour week) | 22 400 Kč |
| Per hour | 134,40 Kč |
How the figure is set — automatic indexation
The minimum wage is no longer a number renegotiated from scratch each year. Since a recent change to the Labour Code it is set by a formula: a government coefficient applied to an official forecast of the average wage for the coming year. Each year the ministry publishes the resulting value in a notice (sdělení), and it takes effect from the first of January. The upshot is that the minimum wage now rises predictably in step with forecast average earnings, rather than by ad-hoc decision.
One point worth flagging for accuracy: the “average wage” that drives this minimum-wage formula is a forecast figure and is not the same number as the statutory average wage (48 967 Kč a month) that drives the income-tax threshold and the social-insurance ceiling. They are two different figures for two different purposes, and this site keeps them apart.
Why the minimum wage reaches further than the lowest pay
The minimum wage is not only a floor on pay — it anchors two other rules on this site. It is the minimum assessment base for health insurance, so a below-minimum part-time job is still charged health insurance as if it earned 22 400 Kč (see the insurance page for the top-up that follows from this). And half of the minimum wage, 11 200 Kč a month, is the income you have to reach before the monthly child tax bonus can be paid. So a change in the minimum wage quietly moves those thresholds too.
Guaranteed pay (zaručený plat)
Alongside the plain minimum wage, Czech law defines a set of higher guaranteed pay levels for more demanding work, graded in groups that build up from the minimum wage. As matters stand for 2026 this guaranteed-pay scale applies in the public and state sector; the framing of how it applies to the private sector rests on secondary reading rather than a single primary clause, so we describe it cautiously and do not attach specific tier amounts here. For a net-pay estimate the ordinary minimum wage is the figure that actually feeds the calculators; the guaranteed-pay tiers are informational.
The amounts on this page are the rates in force for 2026, taken from the sources this page cites and shown to set out the structure. If a rule changed recently it may not be reflected here yet, and none of them has been through our final sign-off — for an official amount, check the cited source or your payslip.