Maternity leave no longer requires 86 collected documents

The Law on Financial Assistance to Families with Children came into effect on 1 July, which introduced a significant financial incentive towards enhancing the birth rate in Serbia, by increasing the child assistance for the third and fourth child, and resolved one of the most pronounced complicated administrative procedures – the process of collecting documentation to exercise the right to maternity leave fee, which required an unbelievable amount of 86 papers.

The administrative costs imposed by this procedure to businesses (together with the procedure for exercising the right to pregnancy leave fee) was estimated back in 2012 at ca. 690 million dinars a year – the amount which could be used to create at least 1,200 new jobs. The same year, NALED and RTS launched the campaign “Ask WHEN” with the support of USAID and Open Society Foundation, being the first to draw the attention of the public and line institutions about this unnecessary bureaucratic obstacle.

The burden of collecting the documents has so far been undertaken by the employer and the new mother (which was a particular problem for women entrepreneurs). According to the new, automated procedure, the new mothers only need to submit a doctor’s report, a decision about maternity leave issued by the employer, and a copy of bank account.

The remaining information about the applicants will collected by the local governments via the Central Registry of Mandatory Social Insurance (CROSO), and they will further determine the basis for the reimbursement. The employers are no longer obliged to pay the salary to employees on maternity leave, and then ask for a refund, so the fee will be paid directly by the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Issues, from the state budget.

"The analysis conducted by the Association of Accounting Agencies’ Owners determined that out of 86 pages of original or photocopied documents, even 80 were entirely unnecessary. By taking part in the Working group for drafting this law, NALED helped in having this procedure simplified, and we are glad that the Ministry of Labor accepted our suggestions. However, the responsibility for the system functioning has been entirely transferred to the state and local institutions, and we will particularly monitor the implementation of the new procedure and indicate the problems, to ensure that the trust of citizens and businesses is not threatened" – says Stanka Pejanović, a member of NALED Managing Board, the Management of Gorenje Group and Director of Gorenje Belgrade.

One step forward, one step back

In spite of the positive steps towards improving the birth rate and cutting the red tape, the Law on Financial Assistance to Families with Children takes a step back in terms of stipulating that the amount of maternity leave fee can reach a maximum of three average monthly salaries in Serbia (compared to the previously defined five salaries), which represents a negative discrimination of women with above-average salaries, and a stimulation towards shadow economy. 

The Tax Administration data about the taxpayers of annual income tax, paid by persons with income extending the amount of three average annual salaries, indicate that only 10% or approximately 2,300 tax applications in 2017 were submitted by women, suggesting that the maternity fee for women earning more than three or five average salaries would both be an insignificant burden to the budget.

Video “Pregnant women countering the system” which marked the “Ask WHEN” campaign in 2012

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