According to the amendments adopted on Thursday, 4 November, persons who have contracted COVID‑19 or who have to quarantine at home and who have been issued an interoperable certificate of vaccination or recovery will be eligible for paid sick leave from the first day of the incapacity for work.

This also applies to persons who must delay receiving the COVID‑19 vaccine according to the opinion of a clinical university hospital expert or doctors’ council.

“The number of COVID‑19 cases is rising rapidly, and vaccination is one of the main tools for combatting the pandemic. It is important to follow the instructions of epidemiologists and renew requirements that were already in force earlier, but, this time, also providing support to people who have an interoperable certificate or expert opinion that they must delay receiving the vaccine against COVID‑19”, stated Andris Skride, Chair of the Social and Employment Matters Committee, which is responsible for the progress of the draft law in the Saeima.

According to the amendments, from 6 November to 31 December, persons with acute upper respiratory tract diseases will be issued a sick leave certificate B for the first three days of the incapacity for work, and they will be granted and disbursed sickness benefit.

If the person receives a referral for a COVID‑19 test and the test result is positive, the sickness benefit will be granted from the first day of the incapacity for work until the day that they are able to work again. If the test result is negative, but the person is still incapable of working, the sick leave certificate B will be issued until day three of the incapacity for work, and sick leave certificate A will be issued from day four. The amendments provide that sickness pay and benefit shall be paid according to the general procedure.

Before, all persons having contracted COVID‑19 or an acute upper respiratory tract infection were issued sick leave certificate A for the first 10 days of the incapacity for work and sick leave certificate B from day 11. The employer covers the costs of certificate A, whereas sickness benefit is disbursed for certificate B. According to the amendments, from now on, within the specified time, the previous procedure will apply to persons without an interoperable certificate of vaccination or recovery who have not received an expert opinion regarding the need to delay receiving the COVID‑19 vaccine.

In addition, the amendments stipulate that persons who have an interoperable certificate of vaccination or recovery or an expert opinion stating that they must delay receiving the vaccine and who were receiving parental benefit expiring on 11 October 2021 or later but are unable to return to work due to the emergency situation can request an extension of the parental benefit.

This parental benefit will be disbursed from 11 October until the day that the person starts earning income as an employee or self‑employed person, but not longer than until 15 November 2021. During this period, the amount of the extended parental benefit will be the same as received by the person before, but not more than 700 euros per month. The parental benefit will not be extended if the person is engaged in economic activity and receives income or if they have been granted downtime allowance.

Moreover, persons with an interoperable certificate of vaccination or recovery or an expert opinion stating that they should delay receiving the vaccine are eligible for sickness assistance benefit. Persons can request the benefit if, due to COVID‑19 related circumstances, their child up to 10 years of age (including) may not attend pre‑school or if learning at school is organised remotely and the parent is unable to work remotely. The sickness assistance benefit will also be available for children with disabilities up to 18 years old.

The sickness assistance benefit can be requested within 10 working days after the day when, due to quarantine, the child’s pre-school education institution’s group or the institution itself is closed, or the remote learning process has commenced, or from the day when the day care centre or day centre services are no longer available, but not beyond 31 January 2022.

The amendments shall enter into force on the day following their promulgation.

Saeima Press Service