What other allowances do MPs receive in addition to their salary? - Měšec.cz

Deputies receive a number of other monetary compensations in addition to their salary. Of course, their office must be paid for in the electoral levy. They are no longer entitled to free public transport, so they receive a flat-rate compensation, which they use for tickets or fuel for their own car. The office of the Chamber of Deputies pays them assistants and advisory experts. What kind of allowances do MPs get in addition to their salary?

Judges and ministers also receive allowances and various benefits

Salary Act No. 236/1995 Coll. regulates a relatively wide range of compensations, i.e. mainly monetary benefits that MPs receive in addition to their salary.

Also read: Which of the MPs will receive severance pay and how much will it be?

But not only MPs. The aforementioned law regulates the benefits of many more people (constitutional officials, or representatives of state power and judges) than just 200 deputies. For example, judges or ministers, etc. For example, judges receive compensation for the costs of professional literature. (This is exactly what MPs don't get. Even if it would benefit them.)

And then, in practice, I am afraid that judges do not even know jurisprudence - the decision-making practice of higher courts, which you also know from our articles. For example, take a look at the judgment of the Supreme Court (dated 15/01/2016, file no. 21 Cdo 476/2015), which we wrote about in the article You can be fired for unexcused absences, not even the unions will protect you. The Court of Appeal did not notice the change in the Labor Code at all, or it wanted to take revenge on President Zeman in the dispute between the former castle lawyer and the Office of the President of the Republic, or at least to make his team's life uncomfortable, so it decided according to the already invalid legislation that did not apply to the case, it simply ignored it. Otherwise, I cannot explain the judges' mistake.

In today's article, however, we are focusing on MPs, so we will select the most common and typical compensations that every MP receives.

Multipurpose compensation for representation and catering expenses during domestic trips

Read: How much do MPs get?

The deputy has a whole series of meetings. During it, he can invite you for coffee, or maybe even for lunch. They must also dress decently. For this purpose, he receives money in the amount of 16% of the so-called salary base (now CZK 84,060), i.e. CZK 13,500 per month.

Multi-purpose reimbursement for transport

Whether a Member of Parliament travels to Prague for a meeting of the Chamber and its bodies, or elsewhere for work in his own car, or travels by public transport, he is entitled to reimbursement of related expenses. The amount of transport expenses and their compensation is determined according to the distance of the municipality in which the MP has permanent residence from the seat of the Chamber of Parliament, or from the municipality in which the MP has an office, at a distance of:

Here we have to remind you that from 1 January 2011 MPs are no longer entitled to free public transport. They have to buy a ticket like any other passenger.

Reimbursement of trips abroad, as well as reimbursement of travel allowances such as meal allowances, have their own special rules in the Act on the Salary of Representatives of State Power, State Authorities and Judges and Members of Parliament No. 236/1995 Coll.

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Money for the rental and operation of the parliamentary office

Members of course must be reimbursed for the operation of the parliamentary office in their constituency.

Further details are determined by the resolution of the budget committee of the Chamber of Deputies. According to the information presented on the website of the Chamber of Deputies, the limit prices for renting an office depend on the size of the city. For example, in Prague it is 27,000 CZK per month, in cities with a population of between 10 and 25 thousand it is 16,000 CZK per month.

The Chamber of Deputies also provides accommodation in Prague for non-Prague MPs. Most use apartments. At the beginning of the mandate, but also later by agreement (but the MP has to fight for it), the hotel can also be used. Sometimes, especially if the Chamber of Deputies is in session for a short time in a month or there are parliamentary holidays, it turns out to be cheaper than the cost of an apartment.

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Salary or business remuneration for assistants

The Office of the Chamber of Deputies covers the expenses of a deputy's assistant, pays him the remuneration that the assistant invoices to the Office of the Deputy's remuneration as a self-employed person. The amount of the reward is 50,500 CZK per month.

A deputy can have several assistants. However, there is only one amount of money, and it must then be distributed among the assistants of one deputy.

In my opinion, the existence of multiple assistants for rank-and-file members who are not the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the Chamber indicates the possible misuse of this money for fellow party members or other acquaintances. It is not logical to preferably have one assistant for all work, or a maximum of two - one in Prague for the period when the Chamber of Deputies is in session or its committees or commissions are in session, and the other in his constituency to work in the deputy's office?

Sometimes it is even rumored that maybe the assistants work only for the eye and some of the money they receive is subsequently pointed out by the deputies.

But on the other hand, it is true that sometimes assistants work not for a fifth of the total money, but for a symbolic 1000 CZK per month. It is not about money, but free entry into the Chamber of Deputies.

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Money for experts and other helpers

Furthermore, the Chamber of Deputies reimburses invoices for professional and administrative work up to the amount of CZK 21,015.

For the sake of the quality of the work, the Member of Parliament must often cooperate with experts, experts in the given field or legislators in order to give the Member's ideas the appropriate form. However, the administrative work should probably be performed by the deputy's assistant.

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And so it happens that even this money is sometimes used to reward party allies or family members.

But there are also MPs who really pay lawyers, legislators - and recognize that for a cooperating lawyer, who basically follows everything in the legislation, which the MP cooperating with him is doing, the reward is not very big.

Just for the sake of completeness, let's add here that the so-called experts do not have free access to the Chamber of Deputies, when visiting it they have to go through the same check and prove themselves with an identity card as any other citizen.