Hire in Romania

An employment contract in Romania must stipulate the following details:

• the name and addresses of the parties
• the place of work
• the job description
• employer’s criteria for evaluating the professional activity of the employee
• the job specific risks
• the employment start date
• the duration of the employment (for fixed-term or temporary contracts)
• the duration of paid leave
• notice periods and conditions for both dismissal and resignation
• base salary, bonuses and frequency of payment
• normal duration or work (expressed in hours per day and per week)
• the applicable collective labor contract (if applicable)
• the duration of the trial period (if applicable)

Fixed-term employment is only permissible in Romania if it is justified by a reason. The following are the general circumstances where fixed-term employment is allowed:

• temporarily replacing an employee whose contract has been suspended (unless the employee replaced is taking part in a strike)
• temporary increase or modification in the employer’s activity
• seasonal activities
• employing a person who, at the time of recruitment, is within five years of reaching official retirement age
• employing a retired person who is combining paid work with receiving a pension
• specific project work
• as part of employment-promotion programs for unemployed individuals

A fixed-term employment contract must be in writing and its duration must be stated. The maximum permitted duration of a fixed-term contract is 36 months. The same parties can enter into a maximum of three successive fixed-term contracts (with a gap between contracts of three months or less) with a combined duration of no more than five years.

If a fixed-term contract is concluded to replace an employee whose contract has been suspended, the term will end when the reasons for the suspension cease to apply (e.g. when an employee on maternity leave returns to work).

An employee must produce a medical certificate confirming they are fit to perform their job before commencement of employment. The employment contract becomes null and void if this certificate is not produced.

The employer is required to ensure candidates and employees have access to medical service throughout the execution of the individual employment contract. When in employment, as required by Article 186 of the Labor Code, a doctor must evaluate the employee’s ability to work. The costs of the medical examination are to be borne entirely by the employer.

Employees may be subject to a probation period of up to 90 days and 120 days for executive/managerial positions.

In the case of fixed-term employment contracts:

• Contract duration < 3 months: 5 working days
• Contract duration at 3 to 6 months: 15 working days
• Contract duration > 6 months: 30 working days, 45 working days for managerial employees

During the probationary period, the employee enjoys the same rights and duties as other employees. The period also counts towards their length of service. Both employer and employee are entitled to terminate the contract, in writing, without any need to give notice or state a reason during this time.

• The normal working week in Romania is eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. The normal work week is five days.
• An employee is entitled to at least 12 consecutive hours between two successive working days. In the case of shift work, the break must not be less than eight hours between shifts.
• An employee is entitled to at least two consecutive days rest per week, generally Saturdays and Sundays. If there is a need for the employee to work on rest days, the employee must be given time off during the week or additional remuneration.
• The maximum work time must not exceed 48 hours/week, including overtime hours. If the work week including overtime is greater 48 hours, the average number of work hours cannot exceed 48 hours/week averaged across a four-month period.
• For certain activities, employer and employee can negotiate a period of more than four months but this cannot be more than 12 months.

Any hours worked above eight hours per day or 40 hours per week are considered overtime. These hours must generally be compensated with time off in lieu. Employees cannot work more than eight hours of overtime per week.

Overtime must be compensated with paid time off within 60 days of its occurrence or at an overtime premium of at least 75% of base salary.

The employment contract can be suspended temporarily in the below circumstances, with employment rights and obligations maintained even though employer does not have to pay remuneration:

• maternity leave or sick leave
• in quarantine
• elected to a public office or full-time paid trade union position
• taken into custody in relation to being charged with a criminal offense
• needs an authorization or license to carry out their occupation but this has expired
• vocational training leave

The notice period can be agreed by the parties in an individual employment contract or as provided in the applicable collective labor agreements.

In the case of resignation, the notice period is a maximum of 20 working days for employees in non-management positions and 45 working days for management employees.

An employee can resign without notice if the employer has failed to fulfill its contractual obligations.

During the notice period, the employee is entitled to receive his or her salary and all other statutory rights.

Notice period is not required when an employee is under probation and deemed to be unfit for the role.

It is common for companies to offer their employees bonuses and benefits, based on the company’s profitability and employee’s performance. However, it is considered a gratuity and is not required by law. In some cases, these benefits are set out under collective labor agreements or employment agreements, in which case they can only be changed with the employee’s consent.

Terminations should be issued by the legal employer only.

An individual employment contract can be terminated in the following circumstances:

• the death of the employee or the employer
• when the employee reaches the age of retirement
• when the parties acknowledge, or a court rules, that an individual employment contract is null
• for an employee who replaced an illegally dismissed employee (upon the reinstatement of the illegally dismissed employee)
• when an employee is convicted for the execution of a custodial sentence
• when consent, authorizations or permits required for the profession are withdrawn
• at the expiration date of the individual employment contract (if there is a determined period)
• at the employee’s initiative (by submitting his or her resignation;)
• at the employer’s initiative, within the conditions stated by the law (employee’s misconduct or professional incapacity) or due to economic difficulties, technological transformations or activity reorganization.

Terminations due to incapacity (professional, mental or physical) must be issued in writing within 20 working days after determining the reason for dismissal. The notification must state the reasons for the dismissal, the relevant facts, the law and the deadline for contesting the decision in court.

In these scenarios, there should be an assessment of the employee’s performance and aptitude. The employer must offer vacant positions in the establishment that are compatible with their professional, mental and physical capacity (or vocational training). If the employer offers the employee a suitable job, the employee has three working days to accept, failing which the employer may dismiss them. The dismissal notification must contain a list of the available jobs offered and the deadline for accepting.

An employee dismissed on grounds of medical incapacity is entitled to compensation. This amount is determined by the employment contract.

If the dismissal is connected to the employee’s misconduct, an investigation should be conducted within a six-month period from the date misconduct was committed. Non-compliance with these requirements can result in the termination being invalid.

In the case of termination due to redundancies (economic difficulties, technological transformations or activity reorganization), the employer is required to give the employee statutory notice of dismissal and inform the employee 20 working days in advance. For such a dismissal to be valid, the position itself must be genuinely eliminated and not filled by another employee (or maintained under a different guise).

Payment in lieu of notice is not permitted as it violates an employee’s legal right to receive notice.

Employers may not terminate the employment contract in the following situations:

• employees who are temporarily incapacitated to work (with evidence of a medical certificate)
• employees on quarantine leave
• if the employer has knowledge that a female employee is pregnant
• during maternity leave, paternity, parental, adoption or care leave
• during maternal risk leave
• during annual leave

There is no statutory provision for severance payments – except for the minimum notice period – but compensation may be provided for by employer’s internal regulations or collective bargaining agreements.

Non-competition clause

A non-competition clause can be included in the employment contract, either when employment starts or during employment. The employer must pay the former employee a monthly allowance during the whole of the period when restrictions apply. In order to be valid, the non-competition clause must state:

• the activities the employee is prohibited from carrying out
• the third parties the employees cannot work for
• the geographical area within which the restrictions apply
• the monthly allowance (which must be at least 50% of previous gross monthly wages)
• the duration of the restrictions (generally no longer than two years after termination)

Confidentiality clause

The employer and the employee agree not to divulge — during or after the employment relationship — certain information that they have become aware of during the employment relationship. The information concerned should be stipulated in the employment contract, in the employer’s internal rules or an applicable collective agreement. If either party breaches the clause, they are liable for damages caused to the other party.

The employer must pay the employee their wages at least monthly, with the date of payment set by the employment contract. Wages must be paid to employees by direct bank transfer or in cash.

Employers are not required to provide itemized payslips to employees, though this is common practice.

When wages are paid, the employee will receive his or her payslip via email as proof of payment, as agreed upon in the employment contract.

• Employers must keep a record of the daily hours worked by each employee and include the calculation for all contributions of the employer and employee as well as the tax on income.
• These records must be made available for inspection by the labor authorities at each workplace.
• Payroll information will need to be retained for 5 years if the employer submits income information on withholding tax and social contributions.

• Romanian employees are entitled to a minimum 20 days of paid annual leave. This must be taken as one unbroken period of at least 15 working days and the rest can be taken according to how the employee requests it.
• Annual leave must generally be taken within the year earned. However, under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, unused leave can be carried over to the end of the following year
• Employees cannot forfeit their right to paid annual leave.
• The following groups of employees will be entitled to at least three extra days of annual leave each year: the disabled and blind, employees under 18 and those working under heavy, hazardous or harmful conditions.

• Employees are entitled to be paid for up to five days of sick leave with a compensation of 75% of salary. The maximum period of sick leave is 183 days or up to 18 months in the case of a serious illness. Compensation will be provided by the state for a sick leave period exceeding five days.
• Employees who are absent from work because of an illness or an injury are generally entitled to receive the sickness benefit, set at 75% of their average pay, for up to 183 days per year. The employer pays the benefit for the first five days of absence and then the state social insurance fund takes over.

Employees are entitled to five business days of paid carer’s leave each calendar year. This leave can be used by employees who need to provide care or personal support to a relative or someone in the same household who requires care or significant support due to a serious health condition.

If an employee has to deal with a family emergency caused by accident or sickness and their presence is necessary, they can take up to 10 working days off per calendar year. The following rules apply for this leave:

• The employee should notify their employer in advance regarding the period of absence.
• The missed workdays can be made up later on.
• The arrangements for making up the missed workdays should be agreed upon by both the employer and the employee.
• The employer is not allowed to terminate the employee during this leave period.

• Marriage: five days
• Marriage of an employee’s child: two days
• Death of a spouse, child or parent: three days
• Death of a sibling or grandparent: one day
• Moving house: five days
• Female employees undergoing IVF: three days per year
• COVID-19 vaccination: one day
• Employees with children less than 18 years (or less than 26 years in the case of children with disabilities) receiving COVID-19 vaccination: one day

Maternity Leave

• Working mothers are entitled to take 126 calendar days (18 weeks) of maternity, of which 42 calendar days (six weeks) must be taken immediately following the birth. The pregnant employee must inform the employer of the impending maternity leave in a timely manner.
• In principle, half the leave entitlement should be taken before the birth and half after. However, the employee may choose a different distribution as long as at least six weeks are taken immediately after the birth. During maternity leave, employers do not need to pay the statutory entitlements but if the employee has been insured with the state social health insurance scheme for at least six of the past 12 months, they are entitled to a benefit set at 85% of their average pay. This applies up to a maximum of 12x the National Minimum Wage.
• Upon returning to work from maternity leave, employees are entitled to undergo a reintegration program lasting at least five working days.
• If the child is stillborn or dies during the postnatal leave period, the employee is entitled to the full period of maternity leave and benefit. If the mother dies during childbirth or during the postnatal leave period, the remainder of the leave and benefit entitlement may be transferred to the child’s father.

Paternity Leave

• Employees who are fathers and are covered by the social insurance system are entitled to paid paternity leave in the 8 weeks after the birth of their child. The standard entitlement is 10 working days.
• If the employee has completed a recognised parenting class, they are entitled to an additional 5 working days (i.e. total = 15 working days of paid paternity leave) for each newborn child.

Parental Leave

• Employees who are parents are entitled to take parental leave in the period up until their child’s 2nd birthday (or 3rd birthday if the child has a disability). Mothers cannot take parental leave until their maternity leave ends.
• This entitlement applies only to employees who have earned taxable income for at least 12 months in the two years before the child’s birth. While both parents can take parental leave, if eligible, only one parent can take leave at any time. If both parents are eligible to take parental leave, each parent must take at least one month’s leave during the first year. Otherwise, one month’s leave entitlement is lost.
• During parental leave, employers do not need to pay the statutory entitlements but employees are entitled to a social insurance benefit set at 85% of their average pay. Parents may receive a supplement as an incentive if they return to work at least partially for a certain period before the end of their parental leave.
• Parental leave and benefit is available to adoptive parents in the same way as biological parents. This is offered in addition to Adoption Leave.
• Parents of children with a disability may take a form of extended parental leave, known as leave to care for a disabled child, after the child’s third birthday (when parental leave entitlement ends) until the child reaches the age of seven years. During this unpaid leave, employees are generally entitled to receive a flat-rate social insurance benefit.

Adoption Leave

• Employees (and their spouses) who adopt a child are entitled to take adoption leave for up to one year if they are covered by the social insurance system. This begins from the date that the adoption is officially approved by a court. During adoption leave, employers do not need to pay the statutory entitlements but the employee is entitled to a social insurance benefit set at 85% of their average pay.
• Employees (and their spouses) who are seeking to adopt a child are entitled to a maximum of 40 hours paid time off per year to attend the meetings and evaluations for adoption.

Other Pregnancy/Breastfeeding Provisions

• If a pregnant employee is medically certified as being unable to perform her full working hours for health reasons, she is entitled to reduce her hours by 25% without loss of pay.
• Pregnant employees are entitled to up to 16 hours of paid time off per month to attend antenatal medical consultations and examinations (if these can be held only during working hours).
• Employees who are breastfeeding are entitled, up until the child’s first birthday, to two paid one-hour breaks each day for this purpose. Alternatively, the employee can choose to reduce her normal daily working time by two hours without loss of pay.

There are 15 official public holidays per year in Romania.

Employees required to work on a public holiday are entitled to a day off in lieu within 30 days. If the employer is unable to grant the day off, the employee is entitled to double pay for the work performed on the public holiday.