Most noticeably, paid maternity leave has been lengthened from 60 days to 90. The employer is responsible for payment for 60 days of the new maternity leave. Salary for the newly added 30 days will be provided through the employment insurance fund and by the state. But if a worker wants payment for the additional 30 days of maternity leave, she should have more than 180 insured days left on her employment insurance, counting from the last day of her maternity leave.
When workers (both male and female) with children less than a year old apply for leave to take care of their children, it used to be unpaid leave in the past. Now, such workers can receive partial payment to cover their living expenses. But they will not be paid if their childcare leave is shorter than 30 days, or they take their leave at the same time as their spouses, or if they have less than 180 insured days left on their employment insurance before the first day of the leave.
Other grounds for cutting off payment during childcare leave are resigning and getting a new job while on leave. The living expenses paid to those on childcare leave and the cost incurred by the employer in maintaining their jobs will be covered by the employment insurance fund and the state.
The controversy over who is eligible for paid post- and pre-maternity leaves and who is responsible for payment was resolved during the National Assembly session by adopting a resolution calling for more maternity protection costs to be converted into social costs.'
