The issue of conflict of interest is one of the most debated issues in public procurement. According to the Public Procurement Act (Act No. 343/2015 Coll.), a conflict of interest includes, in particular, a situation where an interested person who may influence the outcome or course of public procurement has a direct or indirect financial interest, economic interest, or other personal interest that could be considered a threat to their impartiality and independence in relation to public procurement.
In relation to former employees, the question arises as to how long the employment relationship between the employee and the employer must have been terminated in order to assume that such a person cannot influence the outcome of a public procurement procedure (if this former employee of the tenderer wishes to participate in the preparation of a particular public procurement on the side of the contracting authority) in order to assume that such a person cannot influence the outcome of the public procurement.
Commitments or obligations that the person concerned had in previous positions or employment relationships and which ceased to exist more than five years ago are not considered to be circumstances giving rise to a conflict of interest. A five-year time lapse is considered sufficient to remove any doubts about the existence of a conflict of interest in the ongoing public procurement procedure. If these obligations no longer exist, no further action is required. However, the Public Procurement Office nevertheless recommends that such relationships between the interested person and the candidate or tenderer be openly declared and properly documented.
If five years have not passed since the termination of these obligations and there is a possibility of a conflict of interest, the contracting authority is obliged to take appropriate measures to eliminate it. The most effective solution is to exclude the interested person from the preparation or conduct of the public procurement, or to limit or modify their powers and responsibilities.
Methodological guideline No. 15357-5000/2025
