Belgrade – Zoran Djordjevic, Minister for Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, said that as of July 1, compensation for maternity leave shall be paid directly to mothers and not to their employers, as was the case at the moment.

The Minister explained that that provision of the Law on Financial Support to Families with Children was adopted in order to avoid the abuse of maternity benefits by employers. 

“We noticed that employers previously abused maternity leave compensations, because we paid them to them, and they paid them to mothers with great delays, which created a lot of dissatisfaction among the mothers, "said Minister Djordjevic at the "Narodni front " Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic at the start of the second phase of the project "Welcome to the World, Baby".

The Minister said that under the new Law, a parental allowance for the first child in the amount of 100,000 dinars, which, at the moment, amounted to 39,504 dinars and was paid out once, would be paid as of July 1. He also said that a parental allowance for the second child amounted to 154,000 dinars, for the third to 278,000 dinars and for the fourth to 370,000 dinars and that it would be paid out in 24 monthly installments.  

The Law on Financial Support to Families with Children was adopted in December last year, came into force on January 1 this year and will be effected as of July 1. 

Source: RTV Rythm and Coordination Body