On August 28, a new regulation, Emergency Ordinance No. 147/2020, came into effect. This ordinance governs the granting of leave days to parents for supervising their children in situations where educational activities that require the physical presence of children in schools or early childhood education centers are limited or suspended due to the results of an epidemiological investigation related to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, conducted by public health authorities.

Eligibility Conditions for Parents:
a) They have children up to 12 years old or children with disabilities up to 26 years old who are enrolled in a school or early childhood education center.
b) The other parent is not also taking leave for this purpose.

Definition of “Parent”:
a) The natural parent, according to Law No. 287/2009 on the Civil Code, as republished, with subsequent amendments.
b) The adoptive parent.
c) The person who has been entrusted with the child/children for adoption.
d) The person who has the child in foster care or under guardianship.
e) The person designated according to Article 104(2) of Law No. 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of children’s rights, as republished, with subsequent amendments.
f) The parent or legal representative of an adult with disabilities enrolled in an educational institution.

Parents in the following situations are not eligible for leave:
a) They are on leave as specified in Article 2(1), Article 11(2), or Article 31(1) of Emergency Ordinance No. 111/2010 regarding parental leave and monthly allowances, as approved with amendments by Law No. 132/2011, with subsequent amendments.
b) They are the personal assistant of one of the children in their care.
c) They are on paid or unpaid leave.
d) Their employment is suspended due to the temporary interruption of the employer’s activity under Article 52(1)(c) of Law No. 53/2003 – the Labor Code, as republished, with subsequent amendments.
e) They do not earn income from salaries and salary-equivalent sources, independent activities, intellectual property rights, or agricultural, forestry, and fishing activities subject to income tax under Law No. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, with subsequent amendments.

Procedure for Obtaining Paid Leave:
The parent must submit a request to their employer, accompanied by a sworn statement from the other parent, a copy of the child(ren)’s birth certificate(s), and, if applicable, a copy of the disability certificate for the child or adult up to 26 years old.

The sworn statement from the other parent must indicate that they have not requested leave from their employer under this Emergency Ordinance, that their employment is not suspended due to the temporary interruption of their employer’s activity, and that they are not in one of the situations mentioned in Article 1(6) above.

The employer is obliged to grant leave if the employee requests this right under the provisions of this Emergency Ordinance. Parents are entitled to paid leave for the entire period during which educational activities requiring the physical presence of children in schools or early childhood education centers are limited or suspended.

Compensation for Leave Days:
The compensation is paid from the chapter related to personnel expenses in the employer’s income and expenditure budget and amounts to 75% of the base salary for a working day, but not more than 75% of the gross average salary used to calculate the state social security budget.

The compensation is a gross amount and is subject to income tax and contributions for social security, health insurance, and labor insurance, as per the Fiscal Code for income from salaries and salary-equivalent sources.

Sanctions for Employers:
Failure to grant leave according to this ordinance constitutes a violation, and the employer may be fined between 1,000 and 2,000 RON for each employee for whom leave is denied, up to a cumulative maximum of 20,000 RON.

Labor inspectors are responsible for identifying violations and applying penalties.