Content:
• Emergency ordinance no. 70/2020
• Law 35/2020
• Order 831/2020
• Law No. 59/2020
• Order No. 874/2020
• Joint Order No. 872/543/2020
Emergency ordinance no. 70/2020
Emergency Ordinance no. 70/2020 published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 394 of May 14, 2020 on regulating certain measures, starting with May 15, 2020, due to the epidemiological situation caused by the spread of the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus, for the extension of certain deadlines, for the amendment and supplement of Law no. 227/2015 regarding the Fiscal Code, of the National Education Law no. 1/2011, as well as of other normative acts, bring the following clarifications:
Comment: This normative act regulates among others the following:
- Extension for the period between the end of the state of emergency and May 31, 2020 for the granting of the furlough benefits (incurred from the unemployment insurance budget respectively from the state budget) for employees with individual employment contracts as well as for other professionals;
- The aforementioned allowances are not subject to enforcement proceedings by way of garnishment during their granting, regardless of the budget from which they are granted;
- By exception from the provisions of art. 34 paragraph (11) letter a) and art. 35 paragraph (1) of Law no. 76/2002 on the unemployment insurance system, subsequently amended and supplemented, the period of suspension of employment relations pursuant to art. 52 paragraph (1) letter c) of Law no. 53/2003 – Labour Code , republished, during the state of emergency and state of alert established in accordance with the law, is taken into account when establishing the contribution period of at least 12 months in the last 24 months before the registration date of the application for unemployment benefits;
- The state of emergency period and the state of alert period during which individual labour contracts are suspended pursuant to art. 52 paragraph (1) letter c) of Law no. 53/2003, republished, subsequently amended and supplemented, for which employers do not owe the work insurance contribution, is included in the unemployment insurance system;
- For persons who, at the date of entry into force of this emergency ordinance, are on leave and are paid the child rearing indemnity provided by art. 2 and the child rearing indemnity for children with disabilities art. 31 of GEO 111/2010, or are on leave and receive the accommodation allowance for children entrusted for adoption, the granting of rights is extended until May 31, 2020;
- For the persons mentioned above (in the previous section) who, at the date of entry into force of this emergency ordinance, are on leave and are paid the child rearing indemnity, the granting of the insertion incentive is made from the date of submission of the application, if they earn income subject to income tax, until the child reaches the age of 3 years and 4 years respectively, in the case of the child with disability;
- The validity of the collective labour agreements and collective agreements is maintained for a period of 90 days from the end of the state of emergency;
- For 2020 (due to the closing of the educational units), the number of days off paid for one of the parents is established until the end of the 2019 -2020 school year classes. These provisions do not apply to employees within the national defence system, prison employees, personnel from public health units, personnel from residential social services and other categories established by order, as appropriate. Until the end of the 2019 -2020 school year classes, according to the law, the employees mentioned before benefit from a salary increase in the conditions and in the amount stipulated by Law no. 19/2020 on granting certain days off to parents for child supervision, due to the temporary closure of educational units. The increase is granted, if the other parent does not benefit from the days off for parents or from this increase;
- Employers in the private system, central and local public authorities and institutions, regardless of the financing method and subordination, as well as autonomous companies, national companies, national companies and companies where the share capital is fully or mostly owned by the State, or by an administrative-territorial unit, with a number of more than 50 employees, have the obligation to establish individualized work schedules, without the consent of the employee, in order to ensure between employees a one hour at the beginning and end of the work schedule, in three hours interval;
- The validity of the documents issued by the General Inspectorate for Immigration is maintained throughout the state of emergency, as well as for a period of 90 days from the its termination;
• The right of residence of foreigners on the territory of Romania, granted by the entry visas in Romania, is maintained for 90 days from the end of the state of emergency, without them being subject to any sanction or restrictive measures stipulated by the provisions of GEO 194/2002 on the legal status of foreigners in Romania; - Entry visas in Romania whose validity expires without being used by holders because of temporary travel restrictions established at European Union level do not maintain their validity;
- It is extended until June 15, 2020 the term in which the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment can issue certificates for emergency situations, upon request, to economic operators whose activity is affected by the SARS-COV-2 pandemic during the state of emergency.
Law No. 35/2020
Law no. 35/2020 published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 271 of April 01, 2020 on granting a financial aid to families for the payment of services provided by the nanny, bring the following clarifications:
Comment: This law enters into force on May 31, 2020 and establishes the legal framework through which local public administrations can grant a financial aid to families with children of preschool age, for the payment of services provided by the nanny under the provisions of Law no. 167/2014 on the professional status of nannies.
Persons who have children of preschool age, whose incomes are up to 3,500 lei per family member can benefit from the aforementioned financial aid and are in one of the following situations:
a) is the parent with whom the child resides constantly;
b) has the status of legal representative of the child and carries his upbringing and care;
c) is the person designated by the parent with the care of the child, during the absence of the parents, according to the provisions of art.104 of the Law no.272/2004 on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child, republished, with subsequent amendments and supplements.
Order No. 831/2020
Order no. 831/2020 published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 403 of May 16, 2020 on measures to prevent the contamination with the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and to ensure the health and safety at work during the state of alert, brings the following clarifications:
This Order established the measures that employers from the public and private sectors must implement during the state of alert to prevent the spread of the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus and to ensure the health and safety at work.
Law No. 59/2020
Law no. 59/2020 published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 416 of May 19, 2020 on the approval of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 30/2020 for amending and supplementing certain normative acts, as well as for establishing measures in the field of social protection in the context of the epidemiological situation caused by the spread of the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus, brings the following clarifications:
Review: Among the clarifications brought by this law we mention the derogation from the provisions of Law no. 53/2003 – Labour Code, republished, and Law no. 165/2018 regarding the granting of value tickets, meaning that employers may grant meal vouchers to employees whose employment contracts are suspended pursuant to art.52 paragraph (1) letter c) Labour Code (suspension due to furlough), as a result of the state of emergency.
The aforementioned employees receive meal vouchers exclusively on electronic support. The value of electronic meal vouchers is transferred monthly to employees by the company that issues the meal vouchers, in accordance with the number of working days in the month for which the transfer is made, according to the contract concluded by the issuing entity with the employer.
Please note that the provisions of this law entered into force on May 22, 2020.
Order No. 874/2020
Order no. 874/2020 published in the Official Gazette in Part I no. 435 of May 22, 2020 establishing the obligation to wear the protective mask, mandatory epidemiological triage and mandatory disinfection of hands in order to prevent the contamination with the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the state of alert, brings the following clarifications:
Comment: During the state of alert, in closed spaces, commercial spaces and at the workplace is established the obligation to wear the protective mask, under the conditions and in compliance with the General Instructions on hygiene measures, provided in the Annex to this Order.
During the state of alert, is established the obligation of public institutions and authorities, economic operators and professionals to organize at the entrance on the premises the epidemiological triage and mandatory disinfection of hands, under the conditions and in compliance with the General Instructions on hygiene measures, provided for in the Annex to this Order.
Joint Order No. 872/543/2020
Joint Order no. 872/2020 of the Ministry of Health and Order no. 543/2020 of the National Health Insurance House published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 435 of May 22, 2020 for amending and supplementing the application norms of the provisions of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 158/2005 on sick leaves and the social health insurance allowance, approved by the Order of the Minister of Health and of the President of the National Health Insurance House no. 15/2018/1311/2017, brings the following clarifications:
Comment: We mention that this Order introduces a new chapter, respectively Chapter V – Specific provisions on sick leave certificates granted starting with May 15, 2020 due to the epidemiological situation caused by the spread of the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus.