NOVEMBER 13, 2020 LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER

Content:

• Emergency Ordinance no. 180/2020
• Order no. 2810/2020
• Order no. 2876/2020
• Emergency Ordinance no. 182/2020
• Order no. 1111/2020

Emergency Ordinance no. 180/2020

Emergency Ordinance no. 180 published in the Official Gazette, Part I no. 982 of 23.10.2020 for amending and supplementing Law no. 136/2020, as well as Emergency Ordinance no. 158/2005, brings the following clarifications:

Comment: This ordinance introduces the possibility of isolating at home or at a location declared with the consent of the person concerned or based on the documents issued by the Departments of Public Health.

People waiting for the confirmation of infection with a contagious disease, as well as people who show signs and symptoms, but also those who, after being confirmed with the contagious disease, do not show any visible signs and symptoms or show symptoms that do not require isolation in a health-care facility, must isolate at home or at another location chosen by them, for a period that cannot exceed the specific contagious period of the disease in question, established in accordance with the existing scientific data.

In the case of persons rejecting the isolation measures described before, the isolation shall be enforced by the Decision of the county or Bucharest Departments of Public Health.

People in isolation must inform their family physician about their status, including the location where they chose or were required to isolate. The family physician has the obligation to register them, monitor their health status and also submit their health- monitoring sheet to the county or Bucharest Departments of Public Health.

For insured persons required to isolate, the medical leave certificates will be issued by the family physician who has registered and monitored them, for a period of time set depending on the progression of the disease and duration of monitoring.

For people required to isolate who were not confirmed with the contagious disease following the specific paraclinical tests, the family physician issues the medical leave based on the document from the county or Bucharest Department of Public Health, for the period of time indicated in it.

In these cases, the medical leave certificates are issued by the family doctor within 30 days from the date of entry into force of this emergency ordinance.

Order no. 2810/2020

Order no. 2810/2020, published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 978 of October 23, 2020, establishing the monthly indexed value of a childcare voucher for the second semester of 2020, brings the following clarifications:

Comment: This order establishes the value of the childcare vouchers for the second semester of 2020, as well as the value for the first two months of the first semester of 2021.

Starting October 2020, the monthly amount granted as childcare vouchers is of 470 lei. This amount established for the second half of 2020 also applies for the first two months of the first semester of 2021, respectively for February 2021 and March 2021.

Order no. 2876/2020

Order no. 2876, published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 978 of October 23, 2020, establishing the nominal indexed value of a meal voucher for the second semester of 2020, brings the following clarifications:

Comment: This order establishes that for the second semester of 2020, starting November 2020, the nominal value of a meal voucher cannot exceed 20.01 lei.

The nominal value previously established applies also for the first two months of the first semester of 2021, respectively February 2021 and March 2021.

Emergency Ordinance no. 182/2020

Emergency Ordinance no. 182 published in the Official Gazette, Part I no. 993 of October 27, 2020 supplementing the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 147/2020 concerning the granting of days off for parents in order to supervise children, when in-person teaching activities are limited or suspended by educational institutions and preschool units, due to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and also supplementing Art. 6 of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 132/2020 regarding support measures for employees and employers in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and for the employment stimulation, brings the following clarifications:

Comment: The present ordinance establishes the following:
The emergency ordinance also applies to those parents or legal representatives who have under their care and supervision one or more children in school with chronic diseases for whom the family physician or medical specialist has issued certificates for carrying out the classes under the conditions set out in Annex 1 of Order no. 5487/ 1.494/2020.

To this end, besides the documents to be submitted to the employer and provided in ordinance 147/2020, the parents must also submit a copy of the certificate issued by the family physician/medical specialist.

The number of days off granted based on the length of time stipulated in the Decisions of the county or Bucharest Committee for Emergency Situations. The granting of days off is valid only during the state of alert.

The days off are granted only after the employer has applied the legal regulations in force regarding telework or work from home, if the workplace is compatible.

Regarding art. 6 of Emergency Ordinance no. 132/2020, the present emergency ordinance establishes that the amount provided for in art. 6 of GEO 132/2020 shall NOT be granted to employers who have registered the implementation of telework in the general register of employees after the legal deadline established for this.

Order no. 1111/2020

Order no. 1111/2020 published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 993 of October 27, 2020 for amending the application rules of the provisions of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 158/2005 on medical leaves and social health insurance benefits, 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: Family physicians may issue medical leave certificates for incapacity for work with a duration of not more than 10 calendar days, except for the temporary incapacity for work of insured persons who are required to isolate in accordance with Law no. 136/2020, republished, with subsequent amendments and supplements.

Insured persons who are required to isolate benefit from sick leave for the entire isolation period. For persons who had to isolate exclusively in a healthcare facility or an alternative location attached to a healthcare facility, the medical leave certificate is issued by the attending physician at discharge from the hospital, both for the hospitalisation and discharge period, as the case may be, with the registration of the corresponding allowance code. If after the end of the medical leave certificate at discharge, the health condition of the insured person doesn’t allow them to resume work, the family physician may extend the sick leave for the same disease.

For insured persons who were required to isolate in a healthcare facility or an alternative location attached to a healthcare facility and who can be discharged under the condition that they isolate at home or at the location declared by the person in question, the medical leave certificate is issued by the attending physician who attended and discharged the patient, for the hospitalisation period. The attending physician can issue a medical leave certificate for the maximum period of isolation or for a period established by them, in accordance with the provisions in force. If the physician does not issue the medical leave certificate at discharge, the insured person required to isolate at home or at the location declared by the person in question, the medical leave certificate is issued for the same disease by the family physician who monitors the health condition of the patient through telehealth or remote screening.

For insured persons who are admitted in the hospital after the date of collection of the first sample confirming the contagious disease, the medical leave certificate for this period is issued by the family physician, based on the document issued by the Department of Public Health, which contains information regarding the date of collection of the first sample, the date of confirmation of the disease and the date of admission of the patient.

The medical leave certificates granted to persons required to isolate are issued after the last day of the isolation period, but not later than 30 calendar days after the last day of its termination. If the duration of the isolation period exceeds 90 days, the opinion of the social insurance expert physician is not required.

The gross amount of the isolation allowance and the quarantine allowance is established in accordance with art. 10 of GEO 158/2005, and shall be fully incurred from the budget of the National Unique Health Insurance Fund, except where the legal provisions stipulate otherwise.