1. Subject of the contract: Under a civil contract the assignee undertakes to perform something specific (e.g. to provide an accounting service) or to deliver a specific result (e.g. to develop software code, to manufacture a wooden table, etc.). The assignee under a civil contract cannot be obliged to generally “work” for the benefit of the assignor because the provision of labour is a fundamental characteristic of an employment contract.
2. Remuneration: The provision of a fixed remuneration for a specific period, irrespective of the volume and quality of the work performed, is much more inherent to an employment contract. The assignee’s remuneration generally depends on the work performed and the result achieved. Some typical examples of ways of determining the remuneration in a civil contract include - specific price for a specific product (e.g. a price for a wooden table the assignee has manufactured), value of the service provided (e.g. a monthly subscription for an accounting service and/or a fixed price for processing an invoice or preparing a financial report), or calculating the remuneration under the contract on the basis of the assignee’s hourly rate. A combination of these calculation methods is also possible – e.g. a fixed price for the development of a software product and the assignee’s hourly rates for maintenance and upgrade of the product.
3. Working hours: The assignee is not bound by a fixed start and end of the working day, nor is he/she subject to the labour regulations regarding overtime work, nighttime work, work during public holidays, etc. Therefore, such clauses have no place in a civil contract. The parties may agree that specific services/results must be completed by the assignee within a specific deadline, but the assignee is free to organise his/her work and time in order to complete the activity within the agreed deadline.
4. Workplace: Generally, the assignor is not obliged to ensure a specific workplace for the assignee, nor is the assignee obliged to carry out the contractual activities at a specific place. Of course, depending on the subject of the contract, it is possible that the service is performed at the assignor’s premises (e.g. installation of equipment, cleaning, etc.) or at a specific location (construction site, workshop, etc.). However, the inclusion of an obligation for the assignee to attend and work at a particular workplace when this is not strictly necessary considering the nature of the service is more typical of employment contracts.
5. Paid leave: Insofar as the assignee is not bound by working hours, he/she is not entitled to use leave, whether paid or unpaid. Conditions may be agreed in the civil contract for the assignee to refuse specific tasks or to interrupt the provision of services, but this does not constitute leave or absence of the assignee. Unlike an employee under an employment contract, as a rule the assignee will not be entitled to remuneration for any period during which he/she has not performed his/her obligations under the civil contract.
6. Social benefits: The assignor is not obliged to provide social benefits to the assignee. This includes, for example, food vouchers, workwear, medical insurance, free meals, etc. These types of benefits are inherent to employees under an employment contract and have no place in a civil contract.
7. Disciplinary sanctions: Since the assignee is not hierarchically subordinated to the assignor, no disciplinary sanctions may be imposed on the assignee for failure to perform his/her obligations. Instead, the parties are free to determine the consequences in case of non-performance which are typical of civil contracts, such as the assignee’s obligation to repair a defective product at his/her own expense, reduction of the remuneration, liquidated damages, unilateral termination of the contract, etc.

The above text does not constitute legal advice or consultation and should not be considered sufficient to resolve specific legal issues and cases. We hope the information is useful, and we would be happy to provide further details upon request.

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