The MPs adopted in the first reading a bill to amend and supplement the Labor Code by which the period of suspension of the individual work contract on the initiative of the salary earner, for looking after a sick member of the family or a child with disabilities, is increased from one year to two years, IPN reports.

The author of the legislative proposal Valentina Stratan said in Parliament that the goal of the bill is to partially solve the problems invoked by the parents of children with disabilities, especially mothers. When the families have low incomes, they cannot afford to hire a babysitter or nurse and have to stay at home for a longer period than the law allows. In many cases, the employees thus lose the job.

Valentina Stratan said the individual work contract will be suspended on the initiative of both of the sides or of one of the sides. Thus, when the new changes to the Labor Code take effect, the salary earner who has a sick child or a child with disabilities will be able to request the employer to suspend the individual work contract for a period of two years and the employer will be obliged to accept this.

The amendments will also increase the social protection level of persons who care for other family members who are sick, either parents or siblings. These will be able to keep the job for a longer period if they need to look after sick people in the period.

In this connection, Valentina Stratan said that statistics for 2016 show over 16,000 children were born with different diseases developed in the uterus and these will affect their state of health during long periods of time. Last year, severe disabilities were identified in 1,000 children.