The additional unpaid leave for looking after a child was reduced by two years by amendments to the Labor Code adopted by Parliament in the final riding on July 21, IPN reports.

Until now, besides the maternity leave and partially paid leave for looking after children up to the age of three, the women and other persons mentioned in the Labor Code were offered an additional unpaid leave to look after a child from the age of three to six, based on an application. Now the leave will be provided until the child’s age of four and the job will be kept until then. The period of the additional unpaid leave is included in the length of service if the individual work contract is not suspended on the initiative of the salary earner.

The bill introduces changes to 36 articles of the Labor Code. A new article entitled “Serious violation of professional obligations” was added to this. Serious violations will be considered such acts by salary earners as acceptance and issuing of goods and money without drawing up the required documents, provision of services by using the held post in exchange for remuneration, refusal to take the medical exam when this is mandatory, etc.

The salary earner will be obliged to immediately inform the employer about the impossibility of going to work and to present a document explaining the reason for the absence within five workdays of the return to work. Also, the employer will have the right to fire the employee if this is absent from work without reason for four consecutive hours just once, not necessarily for several times as it is now.

The night shift will be work provided between 10pm and 4am, not 10pm and 6am, as now.