A bill to extend fixed-term employment contracts for pregnant employees will be submitted to the State Duma this week. This measure is intended to increase their maternity benefits and ensure job security, reports “Rossiyskaya Gazeta”.
The document protects the interests of women whose fixed-term contracts expire during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth. Fixed-term contracts typically last from one day to five years, but more commonly for six months to a year, and can end at inconvenient times.
Currently, pregnant women on fixed-term contracts can extend them until the end of maternity leave (70 days after childbirth) by providing a pregnancy certificate every three months. Women with indefinite contracts retain their jobs until their child reaches the age of three.
The new bill will equalize the rights of women on fixed-term and indefinite contracts, requiring employers to extend contracts until the child turns three, for single mothers until the child is 14, and for mothers of disabled children until the child is 18, according to Sergey Mironov, head of the “Fair Russia” faction.
He added that currently, women with indefinite contracts receive 40% of their salary, while those on fixed-term contracts receive only the minimum benefit. The bill will allow pregnant women on fixed-term contracts to receive equal payments without needing to reclassify their contracts through court or labor inspection.
Photo: freepik.com