New legal measures – free days for parents

 As a result of the courses suspension in pre-university education in Romania, between March 11 and March 22, 2020, the public authorities have decided to take measures to help parents who cannot leave their children unattended.

Therefore, the Chamber of Deputies adopted on 12.03.2020, by unanimous vote, the legislative initiative that obliges all employers, both public and private, to grant paid days off to one of the parents in the situation of temporary closure of the schools due to adverse weather conditions or other extreme situations decreed by the competent authorities with responsibilities in the field.

The law also applies to single persons from the single-parent family, to the legal representative of the child and to the person designated to exercise the rights and fulfill the parental obligations towards the child.


Therefore, free days are granted for as long as the authorities decree the closure of schools.

 As a result of the courses suspension in pre-university education in Romania, between March 11 and March 22, 2020, the public authorities have decided to take measures to help parents who cannot leave their children unattended.

Therefore, the Chamber of Deputies adopted on 12.03.2020, by unanimous vote, the legislative initiative that obliges all employers, both public and private, to grant paid days off to one of the parents in the situation of temporary closure of the schools due to adverse weather conditions or other extreme situations decreed by the competent authorities with responsibilities in the field.

The law also applies to single persons from the single-parent family, to the legal representative of the child and to the person designated to exercise the rights and fulfill the parental obligations towards the child.


Therefore, free days are granted for as long as the authorities decree the closure of schools.


These free days are granted based on the request of one of the parents, addressed to his/her employer, who will be accompanied by a declaration on his/her own responsibility of the other parent stating that he has not requested at his place of work the exercise of this right.

According to the law, for the period in which the parents will stay home, they will receive an allowance equal to 75% of the salary corresponding to a working day but no more than the correspondent per day of 75% of the average gross salary used to substantiate the State Budget of Social Insurance (currently 5.429 lei).

Parents must meet the following cumulative conditions:

• have children up to 12 years old or children with disabilities up to 18 years old;
• children are enrolled in a school;
• their workplace does not allow work from home or tele-working.

As an exception, in the units that provide continuous services based on their activities (for example: sanitary units, telecommunications, transport, population supply, etc.) the employer’s consent is required. The free days will be settled from the Guarantee Fund for the payment of the salary claims only for the period during which the pre-university education units are temporarily closed. The Government will issue next days a decision to clarify the how this amounts will be reimbursed to the employers. 

The law was promulgated by the President on 14.03.2020 and will come into force once it will be published in the Official Gazette.