In this issue:
The law regarding the granting of paid parental leave for supervising the children if schools close temporarily
Law no. 19/2000 regarding the granting of paid parental leave for supervising the children if schools close temporarily (Law no. 19/2000) was published in the Official Gazette, Part I, no. 209 of 14th of March 2020 and enters into force on 17th of March 2020.
Applicability
These legal provisions apply to all the employers regardless whether they act in the public or private sector. For certain companies the parental leave may only be granted with the employer’s approval (e.g., units of the national energy system, medical units, telecommunication units, public radio and television, public transportation and cleaning units, as well as the companies ensuring the provision of gas, electricity, heat and water to the population).
During the state of emergency, the provisions of Law no. 19/2000 do not apply to the employees working in the national defense system, in the penitentiaries, in the public medical units and to other categories identified under the decision of the ministry of internal affaires, ministry of economy and the ministry of transport, as the case may be.
The beneficiary of paid leave
According to the Law no. 19/2000, one of the parents is benefiting from paid parental leave for supervising the children if schools close temporarily.
The paid leave is granted upon the request submitted to his/her employer by the parent supervising the child. The request must be accompanied by a statement on his/her own liability issued by the other parent, confirming that the latter has not applied for the same parental leave.
Conditions for granting the paid leave
As per the law, for the paid leave to be granted the following conditions must be met:
- The schools are closed due to unfavorable weather conditions or due to other extreme situations assessed as such by the competent authorities;
- The parents have children of up to 12 years old or children with disabilities of up to 18 years of age, who are registered with schools;
- The work place of the parent does not allow for work from home or teleworking.
Payment
The payment for the parental leave is made out of the personnel expenses account under the revenue and expenditure budget of the employer and is of 75% of the salary paid for a business day and may not exceed 75% of the medium gross salary used for determining the state social insurance budget.
These payments will be covered from the guarantee Fund for the payment of salary receivables only for the period for which the competent authorities decide to have the schools closed.
Prepared by:
Anca Atanasiu - Senior Associate
For additional information, please contact:
Andrei Stefanovici, Senior Managing Associate - Head of Employment Practice