Changes in the granting of paternity leave

The Law of paternity leave no. 210/1999, is amended by the publication in the Official Gazette no. 845 of 29.08.2022 of OUG no. 117.

According to the legal provisions of the Ordinance, the granting periods are increased, as follows:

• the duration of paternity leave is increased from 5 to 10 working days;

• if the father of the newborn child has also obtained the certificate of graduation of the course of childbearing (course of methods of raising and harmonious development of children in the first years of life), regardless of when it was obtained, the duration of parental leave is increased by 5 working days (previously, 10 working days were provided if the father also obtained the certificate of child-growing). In this case, the measure applies to each newborn, not just once, as previously foreseen.

• in the case of the father who satisfies the military service in term, the leave is extended from 7 to 10 working days.

The allowance for parental leave shall be borne by the employer and shall be equal to the salary corresponding to that period. The period of paternity leave is seniority in the field of work and service, as well as in the specialty and is considered to establish the rights that are granted in relation to them.

What is the purpose of paternity leave?

Paternity leave is granted in order to ensure the effective participation of the father in the care of the newborn child and to facilitate the reconciliation of work and family life for workers who are parents. This ordinance actually transposes the European Directive no. 1.158/2019 which contains measures on the work-life balance of parents and carers.

Who is entitled to this leave?

The categories of workers eligible for this right are extended, so that, in addition to persons employed on the basis of an employment or employment relationship, they are entitled to paternity leave and:

• those who work on the basis of sports contracts;

• persons working on the basis of individual labor conventions in cooperatives;

• directors operating on the basis of mandate contracts;

• persons working on the basis of management contracts;

• those who hold a position of public dignity;

• persons working on the basis of management and administration contracts in the field of health.

This eliminates the old provisions referring to their quality of insured under the state social security system.

Obligations and prohibitions

The employer has the obligation to:

• to approve paternity leave;
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  to inform employees of this legal right;

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  to maintain, throughout the duration of the leave, the granting of rights acquired by the worker prior to the granting of parental leave and of those which are in the process of being acquired by the worker on the date on which the paternity leave begins, but also to apply them after its termination.

The employer is prohibited:

• the application of less favorable treatment to the father who applied for or took paternity leave;
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  ordering the termination of employment reports during the period when the worker is on paternity leave, the exception is dismissal for reasons that occur as a result of judicial reorganization or the bankruptcy of the employer.

Failure to comply with the legal provisions by the employer constitutes a contravention and is sanctioned with a fine from 4.000 lei to 8.000 lei. Within 30 days of the entry into force of this Ordinance, the Government has the obligation to adopt the methodological norms of application.