At second reading, MPs on December 18 approved amendments to the Labour Code granting parents (or adoptive parents) of children up to the age of 12 the right to flexible working arrangements.
Parliament also passed, at second reading, amendments to the Family Code related to shared parenting.
Without debate, MPs adopted the Labour Code changes, which allow parents of children under 12 to benefit from flexible working hours throughout the year. Between the first and second readings, a proposal was added to extend this right beyond the summer holidays to cover the entire year.
The Family Code amendments were also debated and approved at second reading, prompting a strong public reaction and protests outside Parliament.
Under the adopted provisions, the court will continue to decide on shared parenting arrangements, assessing whether parents should have equal rights based on their capacities and on what is in the best interests of the child. MPs rejected provisions related to parental alienation, as well as the possibility of reviewing parental rights in cases of inconsistent compliance with a court order. Proposals requiring children to spend a fixed number of days with a specific parent were also not adopted.
Denitsa Sacheva (GERB–UDF):
“We genuinely need to seek a reasonable balance—on the one hand, to take a step forward and, on the other, to find the golden mean. It is a fact that we should address alienating behaviour, but it is also a fact that the current legislation allows for a great deal of subjectivity.”
Larisa Savova (Velichie):
“Some of the provisions submitted to the Family Code were not born out of judicial practice or real work with children and families. They were written, lobbied for and financed by interest groups. The right to a relationship with both parents cannot be expressed in numbers, nor regulated through sanctions. A child is not a calculator, and parental rights are not an accounting spreadsheet.”
Tsveta Rangelova (Vazrazhdane):
“There is no trace of those provisions. Nor is there a presumption of shared parenting. What matters today is that everything is once again in the hands of the court. We have left this crucial assessment to continue to be made there, taking into account all relevant circumstances.”
Aleksandar Rashev (There is Such a People):
“We have adopted the possibility for the court to order shared parenting between both parents when both have requested to exercise parental rights. In the event of a dispute between the parents, the court may rule after analysing parental capacity.”
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