The technological unemployment period will be decreased from six months to four, while the size of the unemployment benefit from the salary will be reduced from 75% to 50%. A bill with amendments to 18 articles of the Labor Code was passed by Parliament in the first reading on July 6, IPN reports.

Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Viorica Dumbraveanu said in Parliament that one of the amendments provides that the salary earners who enrolled at vocational or higher educational institutions, evening classes or part-time education, out of their own free will and study successfully will enjoy particular guarantees and compensations, in accordance with the provisions of the collective or individual work contract.

Another amendment introduces the notion of “stationing”, which is separated from technological unemployment. Stationing is the temporary impossibility to continue production activity by a unit or a subdivision, by a salary earner or a group of salary earners for reasons that do not depend on the employer or employees. If the stationing is due to the employer, except for the period of technological unemployment, this is obliged to pay the salary that could not be received to the employee. The salary earner because of whom the stationing occurred is not paid for the stationing hours.

The additional annual leave will be added to the main annual leave. Additionally, if the provision of the full annual leave to the salary earner in the course of a year can negatively affect the functioning of the unit, a part of the leave can be postponed until the next year with the written consent of the salary earner and of representatives of salary earners. In such a case, the employee will get at least 14 calendar days of leave, while the other part of the annual leave will be taken by the end of the next year.

If the leave, layoff and other allowances are not paid to employees on time, 0.3% of the overdue sum is paid additionally for each day of delay. The old law stipulated a figure of 0.1%.