Support for adoptive parents at the workplace

In order to provide a higher level of support for the rights of adoptive parents, the regulations of labor law have been amended with the effective date of 1 September 2020. The purpose of the new legislation is to make the process of adoption easier, more transparent and, in this context, help the situation of employees at the workplace as well. The main changes are summarized below.

In the preparatory phase of adoption, the employee is exempted from the requirement of availability and from work duty – for the purpose of personal meeting with the child available for adoption – up to a maximum of 10 (ten) business days in a given year.

For the adoptive parent, the preparatory phase of adoption starts with the introduction of the child, which is followed by a familiarization, and getting-to-know period and ends with the authorization phase of the adoption.

The exemption from the requirement of availability and from work duty is available to both parents.

The provisions above apply to executive employees as well, their employment contract may not derogate from these rules.

The process of exemption

• The exemption from work duty is available upon the certification of the organization facilitating the adoption.
• The exemption may be requested within 90 days from the date of the certification.
• The date of the exemption can only be determined by the employee.
• The employee has to notify the employer about the request min. 5 business days in advance.
• As in the case of vacation days, if the employee is exempted from work because of the adoption process, remuneration for such period has to be paid as well.