According to article 18 letter b) of the EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 158/2005 regarding the holidays and indemnities of social health insurances, with the subsequent modifications and completions, in order to prevent illnesses and recovery of work capacity, the insured may benefit from leave and indemnity for quarantine.
According to article 20 paragraph (1) of the same normative act, the leave and the indemnity for quarantine are granted to the insured persons under the conditions of article 20 of Law no. 136/2020 on the establishment of public health measures in situations of epidemiological and biological risk.
Thus, the leave and the indemnity for quarantine are granted to the insured persons who are forbidden to continue the activity, which cannot be performed from home, due to a suspicion of a contagious disease, for the duration established by the certificate issued by the public health directorate.
The medical leave certificate for quarantine is issued by the attending physician, based on the certificate issued by the specialized authorities of the public health directorates.
In case of quarantine or isolation, medical leave certificates may be issued at a later date, but only for the current month or the previous month.
The duration of medical leave for quarantine or isolation does not add up to the duration of medical leave granted to an insured person for other ailments.
According to article 20, paragraph (3) of the EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 158/2005, the gross monthly amount of the allowance for quarantine or isolation represents 100% of the calculation basis established according to article 10 and is fully supported from the budget of the Single National Health Insurance Fund, according to article 20 paragraph (7) of Law no. 136/2020.
As a rule, the quarantine allowance is fully supported from the UNFPA budget, according to article 22 paragraph (1) of the EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 158/2005.
However, by EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 74/2021, published in the Official Gazette no. 645 of June 30, 2021, with applicability from August 1, 2021, a series of amendments and completions were made EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 158/2005 among which and a new provision according to which, except for the provisions of paragraph (1) of article 22 of the EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 158/2005, the quarantine allowance shall be borne for a period of 5 days from the establishes the quarantine measure on returning to Romania, for a person who moved in personal interest in an area where at the time of travel there is an epidemic, epidemiological or biological risk, with a highly pathogenic agent, under the conditions established by the rules of application of this emergency ordinances, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health and of the President of CNAS no. 15/2018 / 1,311/2017, with subsequent amendments and completions. In connection with the movement of employees in personal interest, there may be two situations: 1. At the date when the employee left the territory of Romania, the state in which he moved was included in the red zone: the employee was entitled to only 5 days of quarantine allowance.
In connection with the movement of employees in personal interest, there may be two situations:
- At the date when the employee left the territory of Romania, the state in which he moved was included in the red zone: the employee was entitled to only 5 days of quarantine allowance.
- On the date on which the employee left the territory of Romania, the state in which he traveled was not included in the red zone, but was included in the red zone until his return to the country: the employee is entitled to quarantine allowance for 14 days .
If the employee is not in quarantine due to the fact that he moved to a red zone in personal interest, the indemnity is due and granted for the entire period and not only for the 5 days.
In other words, for the quarantine established in professional interest, the quarantine allowance is paid for all 14 days.
For the situation in which the trip was made in personal interest, the following information is required:
– in which country the trip was made
– date of start of travel (date of departure of the employee)
– the level of epidemiological risk of the country of destination valid at the date of starting the trip
Following the link below, the employer can check the red zone of the state in which the employee went on the date of travel.
https://www.cnscbt.ro/index.php/liste-zone-afectate-covid-19
The employer will ask the employee for evidence regarding the date on which he left Romania. In the conditions in which it cannot be proved with documents, all that remains is for the employer to request from the employee a declaration on his own responsibility regarding the date of departure.
Therefore, if an employee presents to the employer a medical certificate code 07 and from the DSP decision it results that the quarantine was instituted as a result of the return from a state included in the red zone, the employer will proceed as follows:
– will ask the employee for evidence regarding the state in which he left and the date of departure and / or statement on his own responsibility;
– will check on the website mentioned above if at the date of departure the state in which the employee left was included in the red zone;
– if at the date of the employee’s departure, the state in which he went was included in the red zone, he pays him only 5 days of quarantine medical leave;
Tax treatment – quarantine allowance:
Regarding the fiscal treatment of the quarantine allowance, Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code does not provide the quarantine allowance among non-taxable income.
From the point of view of income tax, according to article 76 paragraph (1) of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, “All incomes in cash and / or in kind obtained by a resident or non-resident natural person who carries out an activity based on an individual employment contract, a service report, deed of employment are considered income from salaries. secondment or a special status provided by law, regardless of the period to which it refers, the name of the income or the form in which it is granted, including allowances for temporary incapacity for work granted to persons earning income from salaries and assimilated to salaries. “
From the point of view of CAS, according to article 139 paragraph (1) letter o) of the above-mentioned law, “the monthly basis for calculating the social insurance contribution, in the case of natural persons gross income from salaries and incomes assimilated to salaries, in the country and in other states, in compliance with the provisions of European legislation applicable in the field of social security, as well as agreements on social security systems to which Romania is a party, which includes: (…) o) social health insurance benefits borne by the employer or from the Single National Health Insurance Fund, according to the law, received during the period when individuals who earn income from salaries or assimilated to salaries benefit from medical leave and social health insurance benefits, according to the legal provisions; ”.
From the point of view of CASS, according to article 154 paragraph (1) letter i) of the above-mentioned law, “the following categories of natural persons are exempted from the payment of the social health insurance contribution: (…) i) natural persons who are on sick leave for temporary incapacity for work, granted as a result of work accidents or occupational diseases, as well as those who are on sick leave granted according to Government Emergency Ordinance no. 158/2005, approved with modifications and completions by Law no. 399/2006, with the subsequent modifications and completions, for the indemnities related to the medical certificates;
From the point of view of CAM, according to article 220 ^ 5 of the above-mentioned law, “the insurance contribution for work is not due for the benefits supported from the state social insurance budget, the unemployment insurance budget, as well as from the Single National Social Insurance Fund of health.”
In conclusion, on the temporary incapacity for work indemnity, in this case the medical leave indemnity for “Quarantine” (code 07), is due to income tax in the rate of 10% and CAS in the rate of 25%, and CASS and CAM is not due to.
Legal basis:
– Fiscal Code (approved by Law no. 227/2015, published in the Official Gazette no. 688 of 10.09.2015), with subsequent amendments and completions;
– Methodological Norms for the application of the Fiscal Code (approved by HG no. 1/2016);
– Law 136/2020 on the establishment of measures in the field of public health in situations of epidemiological and biological risk;
– Emergency Ordinance 158/2005 regarding the holidays and the indemnities of social health insurances, with the subsequent modifications and completions.