Moldovan labour minister explains changes concerning leaves

Labor and Social Protection Minister Natalia Plugaru has provided clarifications on the changes concerning the way of calculating annual leave, in the context of public discussions about a supposed reduction in the number of leave days.

In a video, the minister says that the annual leave is not being reduced and that no one will lose either days off or the leave pay.

“In recent days, there has been a lot of attention and many concerns regarding vacations, and many of them boil down to the claim that ‘our leave is being cut.’ I understand very well where this concern comes from, which is why I would like to explain today what changes we are making, why we are making them and what they mean concretely for everyone,” the minister said.

She emphasized that there will be no losses for employees:

“I would like to start with the most important point: no one will lose their days off and no one will lose their leave pay.”

According to Natalia Plugaru, the main change concerns the way of calculating annual leave.

“What is changing? In fact, only the calculation way is changing. The annual leave will be calculated in working days and not in calendar days.”

The official explained that this change is aimed at standardizing the way days off are provided.

“Until now, two employees could have the same number of leave days, but in reality, rest a different number of days. Everything depended on whether weekends fell within the leave period or not — it was, in a way, a lottery.”

“What we actually want is for every single employee to benefit from the same real number of days off. We are not losing days off, on the contrary,” the minister added.

She also referred to the current and future provisions of the Labor Code:

“Today, the minimum leave, according to the Labor Code, is 28 calendar days, which in practice means approximately 20 working days. Following the changes we are making now, the minimum leave will be 22 working days starting from January 1, 2027, and for many employees this will in fact mean more rest.”

The minister assured that employees’ income would not be affected.

“The leave allowance is not being reduced; the rule is simple: one day of leave means one paid working day. We are revising the calculation way, so that each employee’s income remains protected.”

At the same time, Natalia Plugaru stressed that accrued rights remain valid:

“All leave days accumulated so far are preserved.”

Finally, the official underlined that the new provisions also take vulnerable groups into account:

“We have families raising two or more children or caring for persons with disabilities. For them, additional leave remains in force. I would like to reiterate that no one will lose days off and no one will lose their vacation pay,” the minister concluded.

The new rules are to be applied as of January 1, 2027, after all necessary stages for the approval and entry into force of the draft are completed.