As many as 500,000 employment contracts suspended, expected to double

Half a million individual employment contracts are currently suspended, Minister of Labour and Social Protection Violeta Alexandru said on Monday.

She added that the government is ready to cover furlough benefits for one million people.

"The regulations that we have implemented are related to the decree that the president has issued. We have made a two-stage estimate that matches the horizon of the decree, which means March 16 - April 16. A stage that would have meant approximately 500,000 suspended individual employment contracts, and then up to 1,000,000. We are halfway through this scenario, we have estimated 4 billion lei will be needed to cover 1,000,000 of suspended contracts. As we speak, we are halfway there. Of course, it does not mean that we expect the figures to remain there, we have only prepared for double the number we currently have and we are still paying attention as things develop and our discussions resume in order to be prepared for any scenario," Alexandru told Digi FM private radio broadcaster.

She explained that the employers who have furloughed employees can submit the applications to the county employment agencies from April 1.

"The government will pay out [the furlough benefits], no employer will pay and be reimbursed, the money will come directly from the government (...)," said Alexandru.

She added that there will be checks on employers who receive furlough benefits from the government, but only after the ongoing crisis ends.

On the other hand, she confirmed that the current legislation forces parents with children to return to work during the Easter school holiday.