Outings during sick leave: the rules, inspections, and what to do if they don't find you home
The law allows at most six hours of outings a day, between 7:00 and 19:00. An inspection can arrive at any time, even on a Saturday evening.
Outings during sick leave are authorised by your treating doctor, for at most 6 hours a day, between 7:00 and 19:00. Outside those hours, you must be at the address you reported to your doctor. Your employer can check on you during the first 14 days, and the OSSZ can check at any time throughout your sick leave, regardless of the hour. The law has no such thing as "unlimited outings"; there is only one narrow exception, and it requires the OSSZ's consent. If an inspection doesn't find you at home, it leaves a notice and waits for your explanation.
§ 56 zákona o nemocenském pojištění
How many hours of outings you can have during sick leave
The law is unusually specific here: six hours a day, between seven in the morning and seven in the evening, with the exact window set by your doctor.
Your doctor doesn't have to authorise any outings at all. If you do get them, they can be a single block (say, 13:00 to 19:00) or split up. They apply every day, including weekends, and they don't carry over: if you don't go out on Monday, you don't get twelve hours on Tuesday.
- Maximum: 6 hours a day, always between 7:00 and 19:00.
- Who decides: your treating doctor, by entering it in eNeschopenka.
- Where outings apply: the law doesn't limit the distance from your address, only the time. A trip to the doctor or to a medical examination counts as part of your treatment regimen.
- Outside outing hours: you're at your reported address. It doesn't have to be your permanent residence, but it must be stated on your sick leave certificate.
Rules verified on 7 September 2026 against § 56 zákona č. 187/2006 Sb. and the ČSSZ – Illness Made Simple page.
What the law doesn't recognise
Is there such a thing as unlimited outings?
Not in the sense people mean in online discussions. The law has just one exception, and it's a narrow one.
Under the second sentence of § 56 odst. 6, in exceptional cases your doctor may allow you to choose your outing hours according to your current state of health. This applies to an unusually demanding treatment plan, ongoing intensive treatment, adverse side effects of treatment, or an overall serious condition. It's typically oncology patients or people recovering from major surgery.
Two conditions still apply: you request it and your doctor agrees, and the OSSZ gives its prior written consent. Without that, the arrangement doesn't apply. The six-hour limit between 7:00 and 19:00 still applies; you're only choosing when within the day you use it.
Your employer and the OSSZ
Who checks on you and when they can come
During the first 14 days, your employer can check on you. The OSSZ can come at any time for the whole duration of your sick leave.
During the first 14 calendar days, your employer pays your wage compensation, and under § 192 zákoníku práce it therefore has the right to verify that you're home and observing your outing hours. It only checks your whereabouts and compliance with the outing hours, not your treatment. If it finds a breach, it draws up a record and sends it to you, the OSSZ, and your doctor.
The OSSZ checks your entire regimen, including the treatment side, from day one until your sick leave ends. Asked whether an inspection can come in the evening or at the weekend, the ČSSZ answers directly: the possibility of an inspection is not limited to normal working hours, and an inspector can come even at the weekend or outside working hours. So the question of "an inspection after 10 p.m." has no limit set in law. If your outing hours end at 19:00, then at 22:00 you're simply meant to be home.
- Under § 64 zákona o nemocenském pojištění, you must allow the inspection to take place and cooperate, meaning you must prove your identity.
- A broken doorbell or a missing nameplate count against you, because labelling your home with your name is your legal obligation.
Source: ČSSZ's most frequent questions on temporary incapacity for work, § 192 zákoníku práce and ČSSZ Sick Pay (policyholder obligations), accessed 7 September 2026.
What the OSSZ does
The inspection came and you weren't home
First comes a written request, not a penalty. What matters is how quickly and how credibly you respond.
According to the ČSSZ, if OSSZ staff don't find you at home, they leave a written notice asking you to get in touch. The OSSZ assesses the reasons for your absence and only then, if warranted, opens administrative proceedings. A doctor's visit, a hospital examination, or hospitalisation are reasons you can document. "I'd just gone out for bread rolls" outside your permitted hours isn't a valid reason.
Get in touch as soon as possible, ideally the same day, and have proof at hand: a medical report, a referral, a discharge summary. If you were home and simply didn't hear the doorbell, say so straight away, and check whether the doorbell works and carries your name.
§ 125 a § 128 zákona o nemocenském pojištění, SÚIP's guidance on § 301a zákoníku práce and the ČSSZ Sick Pay page.
Practical situations
How to change your address, your outing hours, or go stay with your parents
Everything goes through your treating doctor, and always in advance.
- Changing address: ask your doctor in advance, and they'll enter it in eNeschopenka. During the first 14 days, also notify your employer of the change.
- Changing your outing hours: same process, through your doctor. It can't be done retroactively; an inspection compares reality with what was recorded on the day of the visit.
- Staying abroad: requires the OSSZ's prior consent, not just your doctor's.
- Hospitalisation or a spa stay: on admission to inpatient care, no change needs to be requested. After discharge, tell your doctor where you're staying.
The law makes no explicit mention of dogs or gardens. The general rule applies: you may only be outside your home during permitted hours, and those start no earlier than 7:00. If you need to go out earlier, arrange your hours with your doctor accordingly.
§ 56 odst. 3 zákona č. 187/2006 Sb. (change of place of stay, staying abroad, hospitalisation) and ČSSZ Sick Pay.
If you need the certificate itself issued or extended, Global Health's doctors in Prague can assess it online too, see online sick leave certificates. Outings, however, are recorded solely by the doctor managing your sick leave, and are decided based on your condition, not your preferences.
Global Health Czechia
Sick leave certificates and medical assessment
Your doctor assesses your health and your outings. Inspections and benefits are handled by your employer and the OSSZ.
- How eNeschopenka works, step by step
- Calculating sick pay in 2026
- Online sick leave certificates
- Doctors in Czechia
- Contact Global Health
Need your sick leave certificate assessed?
A doctor will assess your condition and, where justified, issue or extend your sick leave certificate online.
Official sources
Sources for this article
This article is based on the law and on the ČSSZ's guidance; rules verified on 7 September 2026.
Always verify your specific case with your local OSSZ or your treating doctor.
FAQ
Outings and inspections during sick leave
Can an inspection come after 10 p.m.?
The law doesn't restrict the time of day for inspections, and the ČSSZ explicitly states that an inspector may come outside working hours or at the weekend. Your outings, however, end no later than 19:00, so in the evening you should be home.
What if an inspection comes and I'm asleep?
The law requires you to allow the inspection to take place and to cooperate; the doorbell and nameplate are your responsibility. If an inspection doesn't find you at home, it leaves a notice and the OSSZ assesses the reasons.
Can I shift my outing hours if I have a doctor's appointment that day?
A trip to a medical examination is part of your treatment regimen and doesn't count as an outing. A permanent change to your hours, however, must be entered by your doctor in advance.
For how long can the OSSZ reduce your sick pay?
From the day of the breach, for up to 100 calendar days. On top of that, a fine of up to CZK 20,000 is possible, along with a penalty from your employer during the first 14 days.
