This provision is contained in a bill passed by Parliament on its first reading.
The legislative initiative, developed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, aims to apply the principle of equal treatment of men and women in the field of social security and to incorporate European standards in this area into national legislation.
Currently, national legislation does not provide equal protection to all women during pregnancy and childbirth. The benefit, calculated based on the father’s income, can be granted only if the parents are married. Thus, unmarried women cannot exercise this right, even if the child’s father is insured and has acknowledged the child.
The legislative amendments provide that uninsured women will be able to receive maternity benefits after the child’s birth if the father confirms a period of contribution payments sufficient to establish this entitlement. For insured women, the benefit amount will be calculated based on the insured income of the child’s father if that income is higher, regardless of whether the parents are married or not.
At the same time, the benefit will be recalculated within 12 months from the end of maternity leave if information about the child’s father was unavailable at the time the benefit was processed.
The bill also provides for an extension of the statute of limitations from one to three years for lawsuits seeking compensation for material and moral damages caused by discrimination. The amendment will give victims of discrimination a longer period to exercise their rights in court, including in cases where they first undergo administrative proceedings before the Council for Equality.
According to the Public Services Agency, approximately 19% of children born each year in the Republic of Moldova are born out of wedlock.
The draft law will be considered by Parliament in its second reading. Once adopted, the new provisions will take effect on the date of publication in the Official Gazette, with the exception of the provisions concerning maternity leave and benefits, which will take effect on January 1, 2028.
