Soudní spory - jak mají postupovat zaměstnanci

Phase Zero: Immediate response to the threat of litigation

The first and absolutely crucial instruction is the immediate implementation of a so-called "Litigation Hold". This is a formal, verifiable instruction to all relevant employees and the IT department to stop any deletion of relevant data. This includes emails, documents, data from internal systems, chat logs, and databases.

It is not just about an employee intentionally deleting something. A much greater threat in a corporate environment is automated processes – routine deletion of old emails, server purging, or automatic archiving. The instruction "do not delete anything" must therefore be directed mainly at the IT department, which must immediately suspend these automatic policies for specific users and data.

If you fail to do so, you expose yourself to a huge risk. In legal practice, this is called spoliation of evidence. Even unintentional deletion of data that you could have prevented can lead to fatal consequences. The court may conclude that the destroyed evidence would have been unfavorable to your company, which can lead to financial sanctions or the direct loss of the entire dispute.

The Prague-based legal team at ARROWS will help you immediately implement the legal and technical "Litigation Hold" process. We will prepare an internal policy tailored to your company that will protect you from these risks.

What are the risks of evidence destruction by an employee

Confidentiality is key: How to set up internal communication?

Why is silence (outside official channels) golden? As soon as information about an impending dispute emerges within a company, employees will inevitably start talking about it. This can lead to information leaks, damage to client reputation, or the opposing party gaining invaluable insight into your defense strategy.

The key instruction for employees is therefore the duty of confidentiality. They must receive a clear instruction that they must not speak to anyone about the dispute, its details, internal negotiations, or strategy – not even with colleagues who are not directly part of the team, and certainly not externally (family, social networks, former colleagues, journalists).

This obligation stems from the general duty of loyalty not to act contrary to the legitimate interests of the employer and should be specified in non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Although a direct contractual penalty for breach cannot be agreed upon in an employment contract under Czech legislation, such conduct can lead to liability for damages and, in extreme cases, to the termination of employment.

Beware, an absolute ban on speaking is legally dangerous. What if an employee uncovers illegal conduct by the company? Modern internal policies must not conflict with whistleblower protection (whistleblowing). The instruction should therefore not be "keep quiet about everything", but rather: "Communicate about the litigation strategy exclusively with our legal representatives. If you suspect unlawful conduct, use the designated internal reporting system."

Setting up internal communication correctly is key. Our Czech legal team will prepare internal communication guidelines for you, review your non-disclosure agreements, and help set up an internal reporting system in compliance with the law.

When an employee is a witness: Preparation or influencing?

How to ethically prepare an employee for a witness testimony? It is crucial for management that their employees provide the most accurate and credible testimony in court. It is natural for courts to examine the credibility of an employee-witness, as they may assume a certain bias towards the employer.

A strict distinction must be made between legal preparation and illegal influencing. Preparation means that the attorney reviews the facts with the witness, helps refresh their memory, explains the interrogation process, and teaches them to answer truthfully and accurately. Influencing is dictating what the witness should say or offering a reward for the "correct" testimony.

The goal of preparation is not to create a "perfect" story. The goal is to ensure that the employee is not caught off guard in the courtroom, is not afraid, and that their (truthful) testimony is not unnecessarily damaged by nervousness or poor phrasing. Professional preparation led by an external attorney also includes a simulated cross-examination, which teaches the witness that answers like "I don't know" or "I don't remember" are perfectly fine if they are true. This builds their credibility rather than destroying it.

Our Prague-based legal team specializes in "witness preparation". We provide professional training for employees who are scheduled to testify. This ensures that their testimony is credible, factually correct, and does not damage your position.

Must the employee appear in court? And who pays for it?

This is one of the most common practical questions for HR and finance departments. If an employee is summoned by a court as a witness (whether in a matter concerning the company or a completely different one), it constitutes an obstacle to work due to public interest under Czech legislation (Section 200 of the Labor Code).

The employer is obliged to grant them time off work to the necessary extent. Key information for you: By law, this time off is without wage compensation from the employer.

The employee is entitled to compensation for lost earnings, so-called witness fees, paid by the court (or other authority that summoned them). In practice, this means only one thing for your HR department: you must issue an "Employer's Certificate" of their average gross hourly earnings to the employee upon request. The actual payment, taxation, and deductions are handled by the court.

International disputes: When a foreign employee testifies

How to secure evidence from your branch in Hungary or Poland? In a globalized economy, it is common for key witnesses, data, or know-how to reside in foreign branches. Court proceedings in the Czech Republic are conducted in Czech, and all evidence must be officially translated.

Obtaining a witness testimony from an employee in another EU member state requires a formal process of cross-border legal assistance and a letter rogatory. This is where the strength of our international network shines.

Disputes with an international element are part of our daily practice. Thanks to the ARROWS International network, built over ten years, we are able to effectively secure evidence, conduct eDiscovery, or coordinate witness hearings across jurisdictions. 

While another firm would be studying how to request a hearing in Hungary, ARROWS lawyers pick up the phone and call a colleague from their network who knows the local procedure. This saves months of time and thousands of euros in costs.

Data collection for court: What is eDiscovery and how to involve employees?

From "do not delete anything" to "provide exactly this". Once you have ensured that data is not deleted using a Litigation Hold, the second phase comes: eDiscovery. This term (Electronic Discovery) refers to the formal process of identifying, collecting, analyzing, and producing electronically stored information (ESI) for legal proceedings.

It is not enough for an employee to "forward something by email". Data collection for court purposes must be carried out in a forensic manner that preserves metadata (who, when, and what was created or modified) and ensures that the data has not been tampered with, often in the form of a so-called forensic bitstream image.

Employees must be instructed to fully cooperate, making their corporate devices (PCs, phones) and email inboxes accessible to lawyers or the designated forensic team.

The biggest legal minefield is data on private devices (BYOD – Bring Your Own Device). Does a company have the right to access corporate data on an employee's personal phone? Without prior consent or a clear internal policy, this is extremely risky. Therefore, your company must be prepared before a dispute arises.

The eDiscovery process is technically and legally demanding. Our Czech legal team, in cooperation with forensic experts, will handle the complete data collection process to ensure it is admissible in court. We will also prepare internal policies for you, including BYOD rules, to protect your data.

Errors in employee management during litigation

Summary

Your business partner in litigation. We understand that labor disputes are not just about paragraphs of the law. They represent a huge burden on management, drain the time of key people, and can disrupt team morale. Even a "won" dispute is expensive if it takes too long.

Our philosophy is that the best dispute is the one that never starts. Our experience is built on long-term services for an extensive portfolio of clients – we look after more than 150 joint-stock companies, 250 LLCs, and 51 municipalities and regions. We pride ourselves on speed, high quality, and a deep understanding of business.

We are not just lawyers. We can connect clients with each other if they have interesting investment or business opportunities. We are also happy to hear your business ideas.

If you are facing the threat of a dispute or want to prepare your company preventively, entrust yourself to the care of experts who understand both the law and your business. Contact us for a comprehensive, tailored legal solution.