Employment Flash No. 4/2022 – Latest news in the labor law field
29.04.2022 – Latest news in the labor law field regarding the regulation of the activity of the domestic provider and the social protection measures for employees in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine and as a result of international sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus
On the regulation of the activity of the domestic provider and the template documents required to access state support under GEO no. 36/2022
The Law no. 111/21.04.2022 regulating the activity of the domestic provider was published in the Official Gazette no. 402 of April 27, 2022.
The new legal provisions establish the manner of organizing and regulating the activity of natural persons, by way of derogation from the provisions of the Labour Code, in the context of the provision of household activities and in return for remuneration in the form of domestic activity tickets.
Asper the new law, household/domestic activity is defined as occasional, unskilled activity carried out by a domestic provider in connection with the household(s) of a family or a single person as a domestic beneficiary.
The domestic activity is not performed for commercial purposes, neither is it performed for the benefit of third parties and includes: cleaning/hygienic services, laundry/laundry services, tailoring services, food preparation services, personal care services, feeding, supervision of the dependent domestic beneficiary.
Out of the essential elements regarding organization of the domestic provider’s activity and the regulation of the legal relationship with the domestic beneficiary, we mention the following aspects, in accordance with the provisions of the law:
- The legal relationship between the domestic provider and the domestic beneficiary is established by an agreement between them, written form not being required;
- The domestic activity may be carried out in the household of the beneficiary, at the home of the domestic provider or at another place mutually agreed, in compliance with new law;
- The domestic beneficiary and the domestic provider agree on the activities to be carried out and on the number of hours or amount of work, the daily duration of the activity not exceeding 12 hours, or 6 hours for domestic service providers aged between 16 and 18;
- Specific rights and obligations of the domestic beneficiary and the domestic provider are set out, covering areas such as: necessary mutual information, purchase and use of domestic activity tickets, precaution in carrying out the activity and use of specific tools, confidentiality of information and personal data, verification of the domestic activity carried out, etc.
- Disputes between the domestic beneficiary and the domestic provider not settled amicably will be settled by the court of law competent in the area where the domestic beneficiary is domiciled.
The new law also lays down a number of conditions for the form of organization of the activity, including the following:
- In order to work as a domestic provider, the natural person in question must be at least 16 years old;
- The domestic provider cannot be a member of the family of the domestic beneficiary, in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 416/2001 on guaranteed minimum income;
- The minimum monthly contribution for a domestic provider in order to be insured under the social security system is set at a 85 domestic activity tickets, but not less than 25% of the national minimum gross salary;
- The domestic provider shall pay income tax and social security contributions for the income from domestic activities, the new law containing specific provisions in this respect.
With regard to remuneration through domestic activity tickets, the law contains a number of provisions, out of which we mention:
- Domestic activity tickets are issued by the National Employment Agency in electronic format or in physical format;
- Domestic activity tickets are purchased from the employment agencies, from the universal service provider (defined in accordance with the law) or using the Electronic Platform for recording domestic activity, the law also regulating a number of validity elements for the tickets;
- The domestic beneficiary is obliged to use the domestic activity tickets within 12 months from the date of purchase, with the possibility of returning, under certain conditions, the purchased and unused tickets; the law also provides certain benefits for those who purchase and use a number of tickets above a certain annual threshold;
- The nominal value of domestic activity ticket is 15 lei, with the possibility of annual updating by law;
- Domestic activity tickets are not transferable, cannot be used for the purchase of other goods and services and can only be used by the domestic provider whose identified on them;
- Domestic activity tickets can be exchanged for cash (cash/payment order/bank account transfer) by the domestic provider within a maximum of 12 months from the date of receipt, in accordance with the law;
- Subject to certain conditions laid down by the new law, employers (as defined by Law no. 165/2018 on the granting of value tickets) may grant domestic activity tickets to their employees, in the form of a bonus, on top of the established basic salary, bearing the nominal value of the tickets.
According to the provisions of the present law, the Electronic Platform for recording domestic activity will be established by 1 January 2024, being accessible online or via a mobile application.
Within 60 days from the date of publication of this Law in the Official Gazette, the competent authorities will draw up the methodological rules for its implementation.
With the exception of the above-mentioned provisions on the establishment of the specific Electronic Platform and the drafting of methodological rules, the new law is set to enter into force on 1 January 2024.
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The Ministerial Order no. 705/20.04.2022 approving the template documents referred to in Article 6, para. (1) of GEO no. 36/2022 on the establishment of social protection measures for employees in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine and as a result of international sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus was published in the Official Gazette no. 404 of April 27, 2022.
This Order approves the template for the specific request, the affidavit and of the list of persons who will benefit from the payment of the allowance regulated by GEO no. 36/2022, documents necessary to access specific state support that can be granted in case of temporary suspension of work (technical unemployment), taking into account the effects of the armed conflict in Ukraine.
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