Paid day off for vaccinated employees

Law No 221 of 26 July 2021 supplementing Law No 55/2020 on measures to prevent and combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic provides that the employee who is vaccinated against COVID-19 shall, upon request, be entitled to one paid day off, which shall not be included in the duration of the rest leave, for each vaccine dose carried out.

This right shall be granted on the basis of a certificate of vaccination issued in accordance with the law and shall apply to public and private sector employees. If the free day coincides with the day of vaccination, the employee shall be required to submit the vaccination certificate on the first working day following vaccination. However, this right does not apply where the employee is vaccinated at the workplace by the employer.

One of the parents or legal representative of the child under the age of 18 or of the disabled person up to 26 years of age shall also benefit from this right on the day of vaccination of the child or of the disabled person. The rights, in this case, shall be granted on the basis of the vaccination certificate and the declaration on the sole responsibility of the other parent or legal representative that he has not applied for, and will not require, time off for the vaccination of the child under 18 years of age or the disabled person up to the age of 26. In the case of single parent families, the self-declaration shall state that the parent is in one of the intended situations from the art. 3 of the Law no 277/2010 concerning the family support allowance, republished, as amended and supplemented.

In order to not affect significantly the work of the employer, employees are required to inform the employer of the options for scheduling the time off which they are to request in order to ensure the proper functioning of their work.