Lyudmila Sidorenko, a mother of three children born in 2017, 2019 and 2022, applied to the Court. While on maternity leave to care for her second child, she partially returned to work – two hours a day – and continued to pay social insurance contributions. After the birth of the third child, the National Social Insurance Fund calculated the benefit based only on her current income, which resulted in a significant reduction in benefits.
The woman claimed that this formula put her in a worse position than mothers who did not work at all during maternity leave and effectively penalized her for returning to work.
Speaking at the briefing, Constitutional Court President Domnica Manole emphasized that the principle of equality allows for differences in treatment only if there is an objective and reasonable justification. According to Manole, there is no such justification in this case, because both categories of mothers are in the same situation, they have the next child while caring for the previous one.
Manole also noted that the existing norm demotivates women to return to work, despite the fact that they continue to contribute to the social insurance system. According to her, the state should not create rules that penalize mothers for being active and working.
As a result, the Court ruled that when calculating benefits for women who worked during maternity leave, the most favorable option should be applied: either the calculation base used for the previous child, or the general procedure – based on income for the last 12 months.
“The consequences of this decision apply to the author of the appeal as well as to persons in a similar situation whose cases were pending at the date of the ruling,” Manole said.
