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Parents who need to stay with their children at home on the eve of the holidays have an excused absence, but if they do not want to lose a day’s salary, they can take a vacation without an agreement from the employer. The solution is provided for in a diploma approved by the Government on Friday and will end a week of doubts about the situation of workers who, on November 30 and December 7, will not be released by the employer and will need to assist employees . children because schools are closed.
The decree-law establishes that “absences to urgent care of children or other dependents under 12 years of age or, regardless of age, with disability or chronic illness, derived from the suspension of teaching and non-teaching activities are considered justified absences “.
But since workers lose their wages these days and there is no social support to compensate them – as the Ministers of the Presidency and Labor said this Wednesday – the executive provides for the possibility of, alternatively, “proceed to appoint vacations on those days, without the need to agree with the employer, through written communication ”.
However, on Friday afternoon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa promulgated the decree-law, highlighting that the social partners were not listened to. “Given the extreme urgency of entering into force, the President of the Republic issued today the Government diploma that alters the extraordinary support for the progressive resumption of activity in companies in a situation of business crisis and clarifies the exceptional and temporary regime of absences justified motivated by assistance to the family ”, reads the note published on the website of the Presidency.
Contrary to what happened in March, when the schools closed, in which the support for parents created by Social Security and the company was created, workers will suffer the impact of the government’s decision: or lose two days of salary or they spend two days of vacation (if they still have vacations to put).
Although the clarification comes at the last minute, workers must communicate in writing that they cannot go to the company in person. As for people who are teleworking and who also need to take care of their children the following Monday, the diploma is silent. In these cases, as reported by the PUBLIC, the worker can inform the employer in writing that he cannot telework because he does not have family conditions.
On Saturday, the prime minister announced that the executive would give tolerance to public officials and close schools on the eve of the December 1 and 8 holidays and called on private sector companies to fire their workers on these days.
The Government’s challenge is mainly directed at companies that cannot or have not complied with mandatory teleworking, but are also not required to give workers a day. Now, as schools are closed the next two Mondays, the question has arisen that some parents should stay home with their children and know what legal provisions are applicable to justify the absence.
As reported by the PUBLIC, several lawyers warned of the lack of clarity and argued that Decree-Law 10-A / 2020, of March 13, could not be applied because it is the 2019/2020 academic year.
This Thursday, the Minister of Labor, Ana Mendes Godinho, said that the Government’s understanding is that the absences of parents who have to take care of their children are justified, not applying the support that was created for the context of the year. 2019/2020.
When questioned by journalists, the minister did not reveal the legal norms on which the government’s understanding is based, referring to a clarification from the General Directorate of Employment and Labor Relations. This clarification was never made and this Friday the Government decided to clarify the matter in a decree-law.
