Content:
• Law No. 58/2021
• Ordinance no. 19/2021
• Order No. 214/2021
• Emergency Ordinance no. 26/2021
Emergency Ordinance no. 58/2021
Law no. 58 published in the Official Gazette no. 345 of April 05, 2021 Part I for the approval of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 211/2020 regarding the continuation of certain social protection measures established due to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, as well as for amending the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 132/2020 on support measures for employees and employers in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as well as for stimulating employment growth, makes the following clarifications:
Review: This Law brings, inter alia, a series of amendments regarding the application of the Kurzarbeit mechanism, of which we list:
- By way of derogation from the provisions of Art. 12 para. (1) of Law 53/2003 — Labour Code, republished, with subsequent amendments and supplements, the employers can reduce the working time of employees by up to 80% of the daily, weekly or monthly duration computed by taking into consideration the duration provided in the individual employment contract, because of the temporary decrease of the activity due to the establishment of the state of emergency/alert/curfew under the law and as well as for a period of up to 3 months after the termination of the last state of emergency/alert/curfew. In short, the employers are allowed to reduce the working time of employees by up to 80% of the daily, weekly or monthly duration, in contrast with the previous provisions that stipulated a 50% reduction of the working time.
- We note that the employers who wish to implement these provisions need the approval of the trade union or of the employees’ representative, as the case may be. Also, the employees are entitled to an allowance of 75% of their monthly base salary corresponding to the reduced work schedule. Employers can supplement the allowance so as to meet the base salary of the employees, but without the possibility to settle these amounts.
- Employers wishing to implement these provisions must prove a reduction of at least 10% in turnover during the month prior to the implementation of the short-time scheme, or, at most, in the month before the month preceding it, compared to the similar month or to the monthly average turnover in the year before the establishment of the state of emergency/alert/curfew, respectively compared to 2019.
Ordinance no. 19/2021
Ordinance no. 19 published in the Official Gazette no. 315 of March 29, 2021 Part I regarding certain tax measures, and the amendment of certain normative acts in the tax field, brings the following clarifications:
Comment: This Ordinance provides, among others, that between April 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 inclusive, the exemption from income tax and social contributions for the amounts paid by employers for the early education of the employees’ children (maximum RON 1.500/month/child) is suspended.
Order No. 214/2021
Order no. 214 published in the Official Gazette no. 350 of April, 06, 2021 Part I for approving the template of the documents provided for in Art. 53 1 para. (12) of Law no. 53/2003 — Labour Code, brings the following clarifications:
It is approved the template of the affidavit and of the list of persons who are to benefit from the allowance provided for in Art. 53 1 para. (1 ) of Law no. 53/2003, regulated in Art. 53 1 para. (1) of the Labour Code.
Comment: The aforementioned allowance is granted in case of temporary suspension and/or reduction of the activity due to the state of emergency/curfew established. The employees affected by the suspension or reduction of the activity, whose individual employment contract is suspended, benefit from an allowance paid from the unemployment insurance budget, in the amount of 75% of the basic salary corresponding to the job position occupied, but not more than 75% of the average gross salary used for the establishment of the state social insurance budget in force, throughout the duration of the state of emergency/curfew, as the case may be.
Emergency Ordinance no. 26/2021
Emergency Ordinance no. 26, published in the Official Gazette no. 363 Part I of April 8, 2021, amending and supplementing Government Emergency Ordinance no. 111/2010 on parental leave and the monthly child-raising allowance, brings the following clarifications:
Comment: Among the amendments and supplements brought by this normative act we specify:
- Persons who, during the period when they are entitled to benefit from parental leave, obtain income subject to tax are entitled to an insertion incentive, as follows:
a) In the amount of RON 1,500, if the entitled persons receive income before the child turns 6 months, respectively 1 year in the case of the disabled child. The amount of RON 1,500 is granted until the child turns 2, respectively 3 years in the case of the disabled child;
b) In the amount of RON 650, if the entitled persons receive income after the child turns 6 months, respectively 1 year in the case of the disabled child.
- At the same time, this Emergency Ordinance provides that the 12 contribution months (from the last 2 years) can consist entirely from the periods in which the persons benefited from the monthly allowance provided for in Articles XI and XV of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 30/2020, and/or provisions of Art. 3 of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 132/2020.