Modified method of paying sickness benefit to be examined by Government

The bill concerning the modification of the method of paying sickness benefit will be soon submitted to the Government for approval. The changes will be made following a decision passed by the Constitutional Court on April 10, whereby the non-payment of the first day of sick leave was declared unlawful. Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Valentina Buliga has told Info-Prim Neo that the first day of the sick leave will be paid to the employee from the social insurance budget, the next three days by the employer, while the rest of the days also from the budget. Thus, from April 10, when the Constitutional Court pronounced its judgment, the sick pay will be calculated according to this method. “We will comply and amend the law. The bill was drafted and will be presented to the Government for consideration in the nearest future,” said the minister. Until June 2011, the sickness benefit had been fully paid from the state social insurance funds. Last summer, the Government put forward a legislative initiative, suggesting not paying the first day of the sick leave to the employee. It was thus decided that the employer will pay for the second day of the sick leave, while the allowances for the next days will be paid from the social insurance budget. Since January 2012, the employers paid for two more days of the sick leave, while the state paid the allowance for temporary incapacity for work to the employee starting with the fifth day of the sick leave.