On Tuesday 17 March 2020 comes into force Law 19/2020 on the granting of certain days off to parents for the supervision of children, in case education establishments are temporarily closed.
What are the obligations of employers?
In case education establishments are temporarily closed due to adverse weather conditions or to other extreme situations established as such by the competent relevant authorities (such as the current situation generated by the Covid-19 epidemics), employers will grant days off to one of the parents for the supervision of children.
However, the law stipulates that the number of days off to be actually granted is established by Government decision. Thus, it seems that in this particular situation, even if the temporary closing of education establishments was extended until 22 April 2020, it will be necessary for the Government to establish on a separate basis the period throughout which the days off will actually be granted pursuant to this law.
These provisions are applicable to both public and private environment employees.
Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries are employees who are also parents and whose children, of up to 12 years of age, or of up to 18 years of age in case of disabled children, are attending an education establishment.
According to the law, parent also means the single person of the single-parent family (pursuant to Law 277/2010 on the allowance provided in support of families), respectively the child’s legal representative as well as the person designated to exercise the rights and to fulfil the obligations as parent of the child, pursuant to the law.
Exceptions
The law is not applicable to employees whose workplace allows for work-from-home or telework.
Moreover, the employers’ consent is necessary in relation to the granting of these days off to employees of the national energy establishments, of the operative units in the nuclear sector, of establishments with continuous fire, of the sanitary and social assistance establishments, of the telecommunication establishments, of the public radio and television, of the railway transport, of the collective transport, of the units ensuring the sanitation services for localities as well as of those ensuring the supply of gas, electricity, heat and water.
The payable allowance
For every day off, the parents will receive an indemnity in amount of 75% of the daily wage, but no more 75% of the gross national average salary. Concretely, given that the gross national average salary established under Law 6/2020 on the social insurance budget for 2020 is lei 5,429, depending on the number of working days of each calendar month, the maximum daily value of the allowance will be of approximately lei 190/day.
The amounts for the payment of the allowance are paid by the employer from the personnel costs section in the income and expenses budget and they will be subsequently returned from the Guarantee Fund for Salary Debts. The law does not stipulate the procedure according to which such reimbursement procedure will be carried out, nor the applicable deadlines.
Formalities
The days off will be granted at the request of one of the parents submitted with the employer of the person who will supervise the child during the relevant period.
The request will be accompanied by a sworn statement made by the other parent stating that he/she has not requested days off from his/her workplace based on the same law. This last condition is not applicable to the single parent in the single-parent family.
This information is not legal assistance. For further details, please contact us.
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