1. Special Purpose Leave for Employees and Other Provisions
For the purposes of this legislative act, working parents are defined as parents of children:
- who are enrolled in infant, nursery, and childcare centers,
- who attend compulsory education schools,
- who attend special schools or special education and training units, regardless of the children’s age limit, as well as working parents of persons with disabilities who, regardless of their age, are beneficiaries of open care service structures for persons with disabilities.
To facilitate working parents, the right to take special purpose leave is established for a minimum duration of three (3) days, provided that the employee uses one (1) day from their regular leave for every three (3) days of special purpose leave.
If both parents are employees, with the same or different employers, they shall, by a joint solemn declaration to their employer or employers, declare which of the two will use the aforementioned leave or, if they share the leave, the respective periods of use by each of them.
- If one parent is employed in the private sector while the other is in the public sector, the employer must be provided with a solemn declaration from the parent employed in the public sector stating that they have not used the special purpose leave, so that the private sector employee can use this leave.
- If only one of the two parents is working, they cannot use the special purpose leave, unless the non-working parent is hospitalized for any reason, or is ill with coronavirus, or is a person with a disability (PwD) and receives a benefit from the Organization for Welfare Benefits and Social Solidarity (OPEKA).
- In case of divorce or separation of parents, the special purpose leave is taken by the parent who has custody of the child or parental care, unless they agree otherwise between themselves, according to their joint solemn declaration as above.
The aforementioned leave can be taken from the entry into force of the present until April 10, 2020, provided that at least one parent is employed in the private sector, even if the other parent is a freelancer.
2. EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS
From the entry into force of the present until April 10, 2020, in order for the parties to adapt to the special circumstances arising exclusively for the management and containment of the spread of coronavirus COVID-19, the following emergency and temporary measures are established:
A) The employer’s obligation to register every change or modification of employees’ working hours or work schedule in the “ERGANI” information system is suspended, as well as overtime and legal, according to current legislation, overtime employment.
For as long as the above measure is applied, the employer is obliged to notify the “ERGANI” information system, in aggregate, every change or modification of employees’ working hours or work schedule, as well as overtime and legal, according to current legislation, overtime employment, that occurred within the previous month, during the first ten days of the month following the work performed.
B) The employer may, by decision, determine that the work provided by the employee at the workplace specified in the individual contract will be performed through the teleworking system.
C) The employer is obliged to declare in the “ERGANI” Information System which of their employees used the aforementioned leave, as well as its duration, after April 10, 2020, and in any case by April 15, 2020.
In any case, for an employee to be able to use the special purpose leave, they must meet the legal conditions for taking annual regular leave of at least six (6) days for a six-day work week and five (5) days for a five-day work week. If the above condition is not met, then they are entitled to special purpose leave proportionally to the number of regular leave days they are entitled to.
Currently, the method for declaring special purpose leave in ERGANI has not been determined, and we await the relevant instructions in the coming days.
3. EXTENSIONS OF TAX & EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS
By decision of the Minister of Finance, it will be determined in which areas businesses are characterized as affected by sector and by region, the period of extension for payment deadlines and suspension of collection, as well as any other necessary detail for the implementation of the present. Only for these businesses will the following apply:
- Suspension of collection of certified debts and extension of installment payment deadlines. The amounts due are not charged with interest or surcharges.
- Suspension of VAT payment under conditions. The amounts due are not charged with interest or surcharges.
- Extension of the deadline for payment of social security contributions or installment arrangements by businesses for employed wage earners paid by salary or daily wage, with an indefinite or fixed-term private law employment relationship, with full-time, part-time, or rotating employment. The extension of social security contributions is not charged with interest or surcharges.
- Extension of validity of approval decisions for minimum guaranteed income and housing benefit – Suspension of deadlines for the birth allowance granting procedure
The scientific team of Link closely monitors developments and ministerial guidelines and will ensure the proper management of emerging tax and labor issues.
