It is September. A month during which, regardless of the year's order, one topic always replaces the news reports about the summer and political heat. And it's the start of a new school year - for nurseries, kindergartens, schools. Along with the many looming questions such as how much it costs to prepare a first grader; whether the kindergartens are enough, and whether children can be admitted to an "elite school" without private tutoring, the topic of parents at work also comes up. How will they combine childcare with their work commitments?
Bulgarian legislation is among the most generous toward parents, also when it comes to maternal/paternal leave. The mother, the father, even working grandparents have the right to take leave for taking care of a young child. Another possibility, until the child turns eight, is asking for a leave of absence, which means that parents can spend more time with a first-grader who needs extra care. Mothers with children up to 7 are privileged when taking time off during the summer and, if they wish, at other times of the year.
It is essential to know that night work is prohibited for mothers with children up to 6 and mothers caring for children with disabilities, regardless of their age, except with their written consent. Also, an employer may not send a mother of a child under three years of age on a business trip without her written consent.
When we talk about "parents" and "employers", we need to be clear that these are not two different, opposing categories of people, but on the contrary - often parents are also employers and employers are also parents. The employer, who also has children, nephews, grandchildren, faces the same problems as the employееs. They understand it. And they want to help. But many times, objective factors prevent them from doing so. They are often suffocating under the weight of economic and health crises, the shortage of qualified personnel, and the overwhelming administrative burden.
How, then, can employers perform a socially responsible function and succeed in employing the most vulnerable, such as single parents, for instance?
This is where the state comes in and should encourage the employment of such workers. This is also an incentive of the Employment Agency's measure for employing unemployed single parents (adoptive parents) and/or mothers (adoptive mothers) with children up to 5. The employer is provided with subsidies (for a maximum of 6 months), and the procedure involves submitting a form application to the relevant labour office for job vacancies and the necessary documents to benefit from the incentive measure. After the Cooperation Council approves the application, a contract is concluded with the labour office for the provision of funds from the State budget. Time will tell whether this measure and the Parents in Employment project will help parents and employers. And, above all, the children.
