Leave and allowance for the care of the patient with oncological conditions

In the Official Gazette of Romania no. 190/16.02.2022, Law no. 24/2022 regulating the leave and the allowance for the care of people with cancer over 18 years old was published.

Starting April 16, 2022, employees who care for patients with oncological diseases will benefit from an annual paid leave of 45 calendar days within one year for a patient. He/she benefits from leave and allowance for the care of the patient with oncological diseases aged over 18 years, the insured who, with the patient’s consent, accompanies him/her to surgery and treatments prescribed by the specialist doctor. The patient with oncological diseases can only agree to one person for each surgery and treatment.

The gross monthly amount of the allowance related to this leave will be 85% of the average gross monthly income in the last six months of the 12 months from which the contribution period is constituted and will be fully borne from the budget of the Single national Fund for Health Social Insurance. “Allowances (…) may be transferred to the countries in which the insured persons establish their domicile or residence, under the conditions regulated by international agreements and conventions to which Romania is a party”

Each year when the beneficiary receives leave for the care of the patient with oncological diseases, the beneficiary has the right to a minimum of one clinical psychological assessment session and a minimum of five clinical psychological counseling sessions. These psychological evaluation/counseling sessions also benefit the patient with oncological diseases. In the situation of the patient with oncological diseases who has hearing disability or deafblindness, he/she is entitled to an authorized interpreter of the sign language, respectively of the specific language of the person with deafblindness, as the case may be. The costs will be fully borne from the budget of the Single national Health Insurance Fund. This provision shall enter into force one year after the date of publication of this law in the Official Gazette of Romania.

According to the normative act, the leave and indemnity for the care of the patient with oncological diseases, as well as the sessions of clinical psychological evaluation, respectively of clinical psychological counseling, are granted on the basis of the medical leave certificate issued by the specialist doctor.