On March 21, Emergency Ordinance No. 30/2020 and Government Decision No. 217/2020 came into effect, supplementing Law No. 19/2020 concerning paid leave granted to parents for supervising children during the temporary closure of educational institutions.

What do the three normative acts include?

Paid leave is granted to one of the parents for the supervision of children during the suspension of classes or during the temporary closure of educational institutions.

The paid leave days are, in fact, working days until the end of the declared state of emergency, excluding working days during school holidays.

The amount of the allowance for paid leave is 75% of the base salary corresponding to a working day, but not exceeding the equivalent of 75% of the average gross wage in the economy (i.e., 5,429 lei) per day.

For this allowance, the employer is obligated to withhold taxes and social contributions (i.e., income tax, social security contribution, health insurance contribution, and insurance contribution for labor).

The granting of paid leave is done at the request of one of the parents, submitted to their employer.

The request must be accompanied by a copy of the child’s birth certificate(s) and a self-declaration from the other parent stating that they have not requested the same right at their workplace and that they are not on vacation or unpaid leave.

The net value of the allowance paid by the employer (effectively received by the parent) will be reimbursed from the Guarantee Fund for the Payment of Salary Claims based on a request and supporting documents submitted to the county employment agencies.

Eligible Categories of Parents:

The right granted to parents also applies to the following categories of individuals:
– The parent or legal representative of a child with a severe disability who is not enrolled in school, who has opted for the allowance under Law No. 448/2006 on the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities, republished, with subsequent amendments, only if the day service activity is suspended due to adverse weather conditions or other extreme situations declared as such by the competent authorities.

– The parent or legal representative who is responsible for the care, supervision, and maintenance of an adult person classified with severe disability or severe disability with a personal assistant, for whom the allowance has been opted under Law No. 448/2006, only if they benefit from day services, which have been suspended due to adverse weather conditions or other extreme situations declared as such by the competent authorities.

Cumulative Conditions for Requesting Paid Leave:

– They have children up to 12 years old enrolled in an educational institution or have disabled children up to 18 years old enrolled in an educational institution.
– Their workplace does not allow for working from home or teleworking.

Situations Where the Right to Request Paid Leave is Not Granted:

– The parent is on child-rearing leave for up to 2 years, or up to 3 years in the case of a child with a disability.
– They are the personal assistant of one of the children in their care.
– They are on paid vacation or unpaid leave.
– Their employment contract is suspended due to technical unemployment.
– They do not earn income from salaries and similar sources, independent activities, intellectual property rights, or agricultural, forestry, and aquaculture activities subject to income tax.

Industries Where Employees Benefit from Paid Leave Only with Employer Approval:

Employees in the following industries can only receive paid leave with the employer’s consent:
– National energy system, operational units in nuclear sectors, continuous fire units, social assistance units, telecommunications, public radio and television, railway transport, public transport units, local sanitation, and the supply of the population with gas, electricity, heat, and water, food trade, production and distribution of medicines and medical equipment, fuel distribution, and pharmaceutical units.

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