Fathers will now have the right to paid leave of two months until the child reaches 8 years of age - this is provided for by changes to the Labor Code, which have been published for public discussion on the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The leave will be used all at once or in parts. Adoptive parents will have the same right to two months of leave, reports Bulgaria ON AIR.
The new type of leave stems from the European Directive on the work-life balance of parents.
„ The reason for accepting this type of leave is that until now the mother woman was en titled to more types of leave for raising a child. While the father could only use leave for the birth of his child and unpaid leave for raising the child until the age of eight, commented the national secretary of the KNSB Velichka Mikova to BNR.
The right will be used if the father has not taken leave transferred to him by the child's mother. To receive the leave, he must notify his employer at least 10 days in advance.
The compensation will be paid to him by the State Social Insurance, and its amount has yet to be specified.
According to the current legislation, each parent is en titled to 6 months of unpaid leave until the child turns 8, of which 5 months can be transferred to the other parent.
The changes are expected to take effect on August 1.
