Pregnant women, women in childbirth, and mothers who are engaged under non-employment contracts must have the same rights in relation to pregnancy, maternity leave, and childcare leave as women employed by an employer, which is why it is necessary to continue with changes to the legal regulations, said the Commissioner for the Protection equality, Brankica Janković, at the conference “The right to maternity leave!” held within the framework of the project “Maternity leave, a right not a privilege” of the Association Mothers are the Law.

The Commissioner pointed out that according to the current legislation, only permanently employed women enjoy the right to pregnancy leave, maternity leave, and leave from work to care for the child, as well as protection from termination of the employment contract during pregnancy, maternity leave, leave from work to care for the child and leave from work for the special care of a child, while mothers who work under a non-employment contract do not have this type of protection. She stated that because of contracts for seasonal and temporary jobs, many women postpone the decision on parenthood.

Janković reminded that the Constitutional Court, on the proposal of the Institution of the Commissioner and the Association Meme, assessed as unconstitutional certain provisions of the Law on Financial Assistance to Families with Children, which unjustifiably differentiate between the right to wage compensation and the right to other benefits for the same life event, that is, the birth of a child. She also assessed that the labor market has changed compared to the period when the Labor Law was adopted, which must be taken into account when amending the regulations, along with new types of employment, so that all women and mothers are in an equal position.