Though the law providing that the fathers can take 14-day parental leave was passed, a mechanism for providing an allowance for this period wasn’t worked out. Now the fathers can go on parental leave, but will get the allowance when such a mechanism is in place, Diana Doros, deputy division head at the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, said in a roundtable meeting staged by the Association of Independent Press, IPN reports.
Initially, the bill provided that the allowance will be paid by the employer, but it was ultimately decided to cover it from the social insurance funds. The draft regulations that describe the procedure for paying parental leave allowance are being discussed and are to be approved by the executive.
“For us, for the system, this is a challenge because the mechanism initially didn’t provide that the allowance will be paid from the insurance funds. Moreover, there are categories of persons who do not pay contributions to the social insurance fund. That’s why a part of the allowances will be probably paid from the state budget, as the child benefit is,” said Diana Doros.
Under the law, the 14-day parental leave is provided to fathers, no matter where they are married or not, during the first 56 days of the birth of the child.
