Employment 2022 Comparisons

Kurzarbeit

The applicability of Kurzarbeit (the temporary reduction of working time) initiated by the Romanian government during the COVID-19 pandemic, initially applicable until 9 June 2022 by which date the allowance was to be reimbursed from the state budget, was extended until 31 December 2022 through a recent Emergency Government Ordinance.

As such, the allowance of 75% of the gross monthly basic salary to employees affected by the reduction of working time by no more than 80% of their daily, weekly or monthly duration, provided for in individual employment contracts, is borne by the employer. It is paid on the salary payment date of the respective month and is reimbursed from the unemployment insurance budget.

Direct Access to Employees' Registry

Employees' direct access to the electronic employees' general registry (which provides specific employment information, like salary and hiring date, termination date of employment, suspension of the employment agreement, etc) was recently included in the Labour Code. Prior to this amendment, employees could only request excerpts from the said registry through the employer or labour inspectorate.

Employees’ Right to Vaccination Leave

Employees’ right to take a day's leave in order to be vaccinated against COVID-19 was introduced in the pandemic context and is granted based on presentation of the vaccination certificate. Such paid leave is not included in the applicable rest leave and is granted for each dose of the vaccine received.

Statute of Limitation

The Labour Code and Law No 62/2011 on social dialogue have been aligned through Law No 269/2021, and there is now a single statute of limitation for appealing the unilateral decisions of an employer on the execution, amendment, suspension or termination of individual employment agreements. This is 45 calendar days from the acknowledgement date.

Increased Minimum Wage and New Restrictions Regarding Its Use

The pandemic continues to have a serious effect on employees with low incomes. The government therefore issued Decision No 1071/2021 to set a new level for the general gross minimum wage, which is now RON2,550/month (roughly EUR515), for a full-time working programme.

The government has given up, for now, on regulating a higher minimum wage for employees who hold jobs which require higher education, levelling just one unique minimum wage for all category of employees.

Also, through Government Emergency Ordinance No 130/2021, new restrictions have been regulated regarding the use of the minimum wage. Thus, starting from January 2022, the minimum wage may be applied for an employee for a maximum period of 24 months, calculated from the moment when the individual employment agreement is concluded. After the expiry of such period, the employee must be paid a basic salary higher than the minimum wage.

Moreover, this new restriction also applies to employees who have already concluded an employment agreement for more than 24 months, meaning that past employment on the minimum wage is also calculated within the maximum 24-month period.

Digital Nomad Visa

Law No 22/2022 defines a "digital nomad" as a person who is employed under an employment agreement with a company registered outside Romania and who provides services using information and communication technology or who owns a company registered outside Romania, for which this person provides services through the use of information and communication technology, ie, activity which can be carried out remotely.

The visa requirements include:

• proof of being an employee or the owner of a company registered in a third country;
• proof of a minimum income of at least the average gross monthly salary applicable in Romania in the six months prior to the visa application (roughly EUR1,100);
• proof of health insurance; and
• a clean criminal record.

Contingent of Foreign Employees Approved for 2022

The Romanian government decided to raise the number of working permits that can be issued in 2022 for foreign employers outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from 50,000 in 2021 to 100,000.

Employment Measures for Ukrainian Citizens

Government Emergency Ordinance No 20/2022 was instituted to amend and supplement several normative acts, as well as to establish humanitarian support and assistance measures.

With this ordinance, the government brings a new set of guarantees, including in employment relations, such as:

• Ukrainian citizens who have legally entered Romania and who do not request a form of protection according to Law No 122/2006 on asylum in Romania, may be employed without having to obtain a work authorisation as per Romanian law on the regime of foreigners in Romania;
• Ukrainian citizens who do not have documents, proving their professional qualification or that they have the work experience necessary for employment (excluding certain professions like being a physician, dentist, pharmacist, etc), have the opportunity to work in Romania based on an affidavit (by which the authorities assume that they meet the conditions of professional training and experience within the respective activity and that they do not have a criminal record incompatible with the activity), for a period of 12 months, with the possibility of extensions by periods of six months, for a maximum of one year;
• the opportunity to work without having to obtain a residence visa for work purposes from the Romanian diplomatic missions in Ukraine; and
• employed Ukrainian citizens have access to the Romanian unemployment insurance system, unemployment prevention measures and measures to stimulate employment.

Leave and Allowance for the Care of People with Cancer

A recent law (ie, Law No 24/2022 for the amendment and completion of Government Emergency Ordinance No 158/2005 on leave and social health insurance) provides for new leave and allowance for the care of patients with oncological disease, who are aged over 18. The leave is a maximum of 45 calendar days within one calendar year and may be granted, on the basis of a certificate of sick leave, to the insured who, with the patient's consent, accompanies the patient to surgery and treatments prescribed by the specialist physician.

The gross amount of the monthly allowance related to this leave will be 85% of the calculation basis used for national social health insurance benefits and will be fully supported from the state budget.

Leave for a Parent Caring for a Child with an Infectious Disease

Leave for a non-quarantined/isolated parent to take care of a child in quarantine/isolation due to an infectious disease came into force based on Law No 73/2022. In the case of a child for whom the measure of quarantine or isolation was ordered, due to an infectious disease, the insured person for whom no quarantine/isolation measure has been provided is entitled to leave and an allowance for the supervision and care of a child up to the age of 18 years.

Directive (EU) 2019/1937

Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of union law has not yet been transposed into Romanian law. The president of Romania has sent the draft law transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 to the Romanian parliament for review.

Romanian legislation does not regulate an express general legal regime for blue-collar and white-collar employees. However, some professions do require specific education and training (eg, medicine, certain professions in the IT sector, lawyers, police officers, etc).

The general rule under Romanian employment law is that employment agreements should be concluded for an indefinite duration.

Employment agreements may, however, be concluded for a definite duration subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions.

Mandatory Requirements for Indefinite and Definite Employment Agreements

Both the indefinite and definite employment agreements have to be concluded in writing and have to provide the minimum elements required by law:

• identification details of the employer and employee;
• headquarter/domicile of the employer;
• workplace;
• job position and job description;
• professional evaluation criteria;
• risks specific to the job position;
• date on which the agreement takes effect;
• basic salary and other constitutive elements of salary;
• duration of the annual holiday;
• trial period;
• notice period;
• normal working schedule;
• applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA); and
• procedures on the use of an electronic signature, advanced electronic signature and qualified electronic signature.

Conditions Specific to a Definite Employment Agreement

In addition to the above mandatory requirements, a definite employment agreement must expressly state the duration of the agreement. Failure to comply with these requirements could indicate that the employment agreement is concluded for an indefinite duration.

Definite employment agreements have to be concluded only in specific and limited cases expressly provided by law, such as:

• replacement of employees with suspended individual employment agreement (except where the employee is a strike participant);
• temporary increase and/or modification of the structure of the employer's activity;
• progression of some seasonal activities;
• on the basis of certain legal provisions which are issued in order to offer temporary support for unemployed persons;
• hiring a person who will fulfil the retirement conditions under the law in the five years following the date of conclusion of the agreement;
• during the office of an employee who is holding an eligible position within a trade union, employers’ organisation or non-government organisation;
• hiring of persons who, under the law, are entitled to receive their pension and earn an additional income; and
• other circumstances provided by special laws, or for the accomplishment of works, projects or programmes.

The duration of a definite employment agreement is strictly regulated by law, as follows:

• the (initial) definite agreement may be concluded for a maximum term of 36 months;
• the definite agreement may be extended only twice, for a maximum period of 12 months for each additional agreement (ie, the maximum allowed term of definite employment is 60 months); and
• an employer is allowed to enter into a maximum of three successive definite agreements. 

A definite agreement may include a trial period which should be limited to:

• five working days when the definite agreement is concluded for less than three months;
• 15 working days when the definite agreement is concluded for three to six months;
• 30 working days when the definite agreement is concluded for more than six months; and
• 45 working days when the definite agreement is concluded for more than six months and the employee holds a management position.

Conditions Specific to an Indefinite Employment Agreement

In case of indefinite employment agreements the duration of the trial period cannot exceed:

• 120 calendar days for management positions;
• 90 calendar days for non-managerial positions; and
• 30 calendar days for employees with disabilities.

While as a general rule, the normal working schedule is of 40 hours per week, for young people under the age of 18, the normal working schedule is 30 hours per week.

With respect to maximum working time, this may not exceed 48 hours per week, including overtime.

By way of exception, however, the working time may exceed 48 hours per week, provided that the average working hours calculated over a four-month reference period do not exceed 48 hours per week.

Reference periods longer than four months but limited to six months for establishing the average working time may be negotiated between the parties, but the average working time cannot exceed 48 hours per week in certain activities or professions, as provided for under the applicable CBA.

By way of exception, subject to observing the provisions that regulate the health and safety of employees, and based on objective reasons, the applicable CBA may provide for a reference period longer than four months but not exceeding 12 months.

While as a general rule the normal daily working schedule is eight hours per day, with respect to young people under the age of 18, the normal working schedule is six hours per day.

The law allows the employer to set unequal or flexible work programmes subject to observing certain legal requirements.

Also, based on the parties' consent expressed in writing, teleworking employment agreements, work-from-home employment agreements, as well as part-time employment agreements might be concluded, with specific clauses required by law for each of them.

Part-Time Employment Agreement

This involves a work schedule shorter than the normal working schedule of eight hours per day and 40 hours per week, but there are no other limits provided by law with respect to the number of hours of work under part-time arrangements.

Part-time employees may not be used to carry out overtime work, except in cases of force majeure where urgent work is required for the prevention of accidents or for removing the consequences of accidents.

The part-time individual employment agreement must provide certain specific and mandatory clauses, in addition to the general ones, respectively:

• the work duration;
• the distribution of the working schedule;
• the conditions for amending the working schedule; and
• a prohibition on part-time employees performing overtime work.

In the absence of mandatory clauses to the contrary, a part-time arrangement will be regarded as a full-time duration agreement.

Part-time workers should receive the same opportunities as comparable full-time workers with regard to access to training/facilities.

National Minimum Wage

The national minimum wage amounts to roughly RON15.239 per hour, so RON2,550 per month for a full-time working programme of 40 hours per week (approximately 167 hours per month).

By way of exception, until 31 December 2028, the national minimum wage for the construction industry amounts to RON3,000 for a full working schedule of 167,333 hours. This salary does not include any bonuses or other supplements that may otherwise apply and covers only certain expressly regulated activities.

Another exception is that until 31 December 2028 the national minimum wage for the agriculture and food industry amounts to RON3,000 for a full working schedule.

Other

A 13th month salary is not regulated under the law for the private sector but may be granted if it is provided under CBAs, individual employment agreements or internal policies.

The minimum salary levels are established by the applicable CBAs.

The individual salary is established through separate negotiations between the employer and the employee.

The salary system for staff from public authorities and institutions financed entirely or mostly from the state budget, the state social insurance budget, local budgets and special fund budgets is established by law, with the consultation of representative trade union organisations.

Annual Paid Vacation

The annual paid vacation entitlement is granted to all employees and is at least 20 working days per year with no differentiation between part-time employees and full-time employees. Under the applicable CBA, internal regulations' or individual employment agreements' additional annual vacation days may be provided on top of the minimum provided by law.

The annual paid vacation is granted pro rata with the activity carried out by the employee during a calendar year and has to be taken each year based on the collective/individual scheduling of work.

Exceptionally, untaken annual vacation corresponding to a specific holiday year may be taken within the next 18 calendar months.

Pay in lieu of annual vacation is not allowed, except at the termination of the employment agreement.

The annual vacation allowance cannot be lower than the employee’s base salary, indemnities and permanent bonuses due for that period, as provided by the individual employment contract, and should represent the daily average of salary rights the employee was entitled to in the last three months prior to the month during which the annual leave is taken, multiplied by the number of annual vacation days.

Maternity Leave

Women employees insured under the national health insurance system have the right to benefit from 126 days of maternity leave, out of which at least 42 days must be taken after the birth of the child.

During maternity leave, employees are entitled to an allowance amounting to 85% of their average income obtained during the last six months out of the 12 months representing the contribution period, but capped at 12 minimum salaries at national level per month.

Medical Leave

Employees are entitled to benefit from medical leave and the related allowance as long as they are insured under the national health insurance system for the minimum duration provided by the law (ie, six months in the last 12 months before the sick leave is requested).

Employees’ medical leave covers their temporary incapacity to work, which may be caused by ordinary illness or work-related accidents or occupational illnesses.

Medical leave allowance is 75% of the average income obtained during the last six months out of the 12 months representing the contribution period, but capped at 12 minimum salaries at national level per month. 

Child-Care Leave

Employees who have received income subject to taxation for at least 12 months during the last two years preceding the date when the child was born may benefit from child-care leave of up to two years or up to three years in the case of a disabled child. During the leave period, the employee is entitled to a monthly allowance equal to 85% of the employee’s average net income over the last 12 months by reference to the last two years preceding the date when the child was born. Additionally, the child-care allowance may not be less than 2.5 times the Social Reference Indicator (ISR), which is currently RON500 and cannot exceed RON8,500.

Employees may also benefit from other types of paid leave; like adoption leave; paternity leave; paid leave for special family events; professional training leave; maternal risk leave; etc.

Confidentiality under Individual Employment Agreement

The parties may agree that, for the entire duration of the individual employment agreement and for a certain period after its termination, they will not disclose any data or information to which they had access during the employment relationship, according to the terms of internal regulations, of the collective bargaining contracts or of the individual labor contracts. Failure to observe this clause by any parties will result in the defaulting party’s obligation to pay corresponding damages.

Employees’ Liability

Depending on perpetrated deeds the following type of liability may be applicable to employees:

• disciplinary liability;
• patrimonial liability;
• contravention liability; and
• criminal liability.

All the above types of liability are regulated by strict and complex mandatory provisions.

For example, in the case of patrimonial liability, the counter value of the damage recovered through the consent of the parties cannot be higher than the equivalent of five gross minimum wages per economy. Damage that exceeds this threshold can be recovered through the intervention of the court.

A non-competition clause has an express legal regime under employment law.

The mandatory terms and conditions of the clause include restricted activities; non-competition allowance; duration of the non-competition clause; third parties prohibited from benefiting from the restricted activities; the geographical area where the non-competition clause is applicable.

The clause should be of limited duration – a maximum of two years from the termination of the employment agreement.

There should be limits to the non-competition clause – it cannot have the effect of absolutely prohibiting the exercise of the employee's profession or specialisation.

There should be the possibility for the court to diminish the effects of the non-competition clause.

The non-competition allowance has to be at least 50% of the average monthly salary of the employee in the six months before termination of the employment agreement.

With Reference to Employees

A non-solicitation clause with reference to employees is not prohibited by Romanian employment law, and the employer and employee may agree the conclusion of such a clause. However, depending on the concrete content of the clause, on a case-by-case basis, a court may decide that it is entirely/partially an abusive clause.

Compensation is not required and the duration of the clause should not exceed 12 months after termination of employment.

With Reference to Customers

Although a non-solicitation clause with reference to customers is not regulated by the Romanian Labour Code, misappropriation of customers by using the employer/former employer’s trade secrets is expressly prohibited by Romanian Unfair Competition Law No 11/1991. As such, employee and employer may agree to conclude a wide non-solicitation clause, subject to keeping a limited and objective category of customers (eg, customers with a direct relationship during employment, etc). An intervention by the court to diminish the effects of a non-solicitation clause should not be excluded.

Compensation is not required and the duration of the clause should not exceed 12 months after termination of employment.

Romanian legislation includes the following main laws concerning the rules applicable in the working environment:

• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC;
• Law No 190/2018 Implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679);
• Law No 506/2004 on the Processing of Personal Data and the Protection of Privacy in the Electronic Communications Sector; and
• Law No 53/2003 on the Labour Code.

In accordance with the data protection provisions, employers must apply and comply with data protection principles and in particular should:

• have a legitimate basis for processing employees' personal data (as per the provisions of Article 6 of the GDPR);
• ensure that data is processed for specified legitimate purposes that are proportionate and necessary;
• ensure that the personal data is adequate, relevant and not excessive for its legitimate purpose (data minimisation); and
• inform their employees of the purpose and use of their personal data and provide them with a clear explanation of how their personal data will be handled (transparency principle).

In addition, employers must make employees aware of their rights with regard to their personal data processed by the employer, and allow employees to exercise their data protection rights, such as the rights of access, rectification, erasure, data portability, and objection to automated decision-making. Employers must also take all necessary measures to protect employees’ personal data against unauthorised access, loss and destruction.

Foreigner citizens (non-EEA citizens, non-EU citizens and non-Swiss Confederation citizens) may work in Romania provided that they obtain a work/posting notice (aviz de angajare/de detasare) from the General Inspectorate for Immigration (GII).

Citizens of the European Union/EEA/Swiss Confederation member states can enter and have residence rights in Romania if their stay is no longer than three months, without the requirement of additional conditions.

A work notice issued by GII is valid for the entire duration of the employment agreement.

The posting notice issued by GII is valid for a maximum of one year within a period of a minimum of five years. Non-EEA citizens, non-EU citizens and non-Swiss Confederation citizens who can be employed in Romania without a work notice include those:

• who have a long-stay right in Romanian territory;
• who have acquired a form of protection in Romania;
• whose free access to the Romanian labour market is regulated by treaties concluded by Romania with other states;
• who will perform teaching, scientific and other specific temporary activities in Romanian education institutions, based on reciprocal agreements; or who hold temporary residence rights to perform scientific research; or foreigners who perform artistic activities in a Romanian cultural institution based on the order of the minister of culture, etc;
• who are going to perform temporary activities on Romanian territory requested by ministries or any other public institutions;
• who are appointed head of subsidiaries, representative offices or branches of a company with headquarters abroad;
• who are family members of Romanian citizens and have temporary residence rights for a family reunion; and
• who have temporary residence rights for studying.

The number of work/posting notices that may be issued is annually established by government decision, depending on the concrete status of the Romanian labour market, and the policy in the field relating to labour force migration. For 2022, the government established 100,000 work/posting notices; double the number in the previous year.

For stays longer than three months, EU/EEA/Swiss Confederation citizens who work in Romania need registration certificates issued by the Romanian Immigration Office.

Trade union organisations (ie, trade unions, federations or confederations) are established to defend the rights of employees in line with the applicable legislation and to promote the professional, economic and social interests of its members in relation to their employers.

Trade unions are independent of public authorities, political parties and business organisations and cannot perform political duties. They are entities with legal personality that carry out their activity in accordance with their articles of incorporation.

Employees, public servants, including those holding a special legal status, co-operating members and employed farmers have the right, without any restriction or prior authorisation, to constitute or join a trade union; except special categories (eg, individuals in public positions, magistrates, military personnel, etc).

A minimum of 15 employees working within the same unit may incorporate to form a trade union.

In order to achieve the purpose for which they are established, trade union organisations have the right to use specific means, such as: submitting claims in court on behalf of employees, negotiations, dispute settlement procedures through conciliation, mediation, arbitration, petition, protest picket, march, rally and demonstration or strike, under the conditions provided by law.

Subject to observing the representative conditions, some trade unions may negotiate and conclude CBAs and represent their members through an institutionalised social dialogue procedure as described by special regulations.

Where there are no representative trade unions in an entity with more than 20 employees, the employees are entitled to elect employee representatives in a general meeting of employees. The number of elected representatives should be mutually agreed with the employer with reference to the total number of employees. The functions of the elected representatives, the manner of accomplishing them and the limits of their mandate will be established by the general meeting of the employees.

In addition, employees' representatives:

• are not established as an independent body;
• represent an ad hoc group empowered to defend and promote the interests of the employees;
• may not co-exist at the same time with a trade union in an entity;
• are elected by the employees’ general meeting with the vote of at least 50% plus one employees within the entity;
• may have a mandate for a duration of two years;
• should perform certain tasks, such as:
1. ensure that employees’ rights are complied with;
2. participate in the preparing entity’s internal regulations;
3. promote the interests of employees with regard to salary, working conditions, working and rest time, work stability, and any other occupational, economic and social interests related to the employment relationship;
4. notify the Labour Inspectorate about any non-compliance with the applicable legal provisions and collective labour agreement;
5. by law, represent the employees at the negotiation and conclusion of collective labour agreements; and
6. represent the employees in collective labour disputes.

The CBA represents a convention concluded, in written form, between the employer and the employees represented by the trade unions or elected employee representatives, setting up provisions regarding working conditions, remuneration and other rights and obligations arising from labour relationships.

Negotiation of a CBA

Negotiation of the CBA is mandatory for units having at least 21 employees.

Duration of a CBA

A CBA may be concluded for at least 12 months but no longer than 24 months, and may only be extended once, for no longer than 12 months.

Categories of CBAs

A CBA may be negotiated:

• at unit level;
• at group of units level; and
• at activity sectors level.

Employees’ rights and obligations agreed under individual employment agreements cannot be established at a lower level than the ones provided under the applicable CBA.

Depending on the type of termination, motivation may be required.

De Jure Termination

De jure termination occurs in limited and specific cases provided by law (eg, death of the employee or employer natural person, dissolution of the employer, absolute nullity of the individual employment agreement, retirement, expiration of the definite individual employment contract, etc).

For some of these (eg, expiration of a definite individual employment contract), the employer has to issue an ascertaining decision within a term of five business days from the occurrence of the de jure termination case.

Termination by Mutual Consent

Termination by mutual consent of the parties does not require any grounds other than the consent of the employee and the employer expressed in writing.

Individual Dismissal

Individual dismissal may occur either “for reasons related to the employee” or “for reasons not related to the employee”.

Individual dismissal “for reasons related to the employee” is expressly and strictly regulated by law and may be used by the employer:

• if the employee has committed a serious or repeat disciplinary offence; 
• if the employee is taken into preventative custody or placed under domicile arrest for a period exceeding 30 days;
• if the employee is physically unfit and/or lacks the mental capacity to accomplish their work duties; and
• if the employee is professionally unfit.

The law expressly requires the mandatory procedure of preliminary disciplinary investigations to be followed in the case of disciplinary dismissal, and prior professional evaluation in the case of dismissal for professional unfitness.

Dismissal for reasons not related to an employee’s person (“redundancy”) represents the termination of the individual employment agreement caused by the removal of that employee’s position.

The removal of a position must be effective and have an actual serious cause and the redundancy may be individual or collective.

Collective Redundancy

A collective redundancy is a dismissal – within a period of 30 calendar days, due to one or several reasons not related to the employee – of the following number of employees:

• at least ten employees, if the employer has more than 20, but less than 100 employees;
• at least 10% of the employees, if the employer has at least 100 employees, but less than 300 employees; or
• at least 30 employees, if the employer has at least 300 employees.

When establishing the effective number of collectively dismissed employees, the following should also be taken into account – employees whose individual employment agreements were terminated at the employer's initiative, based on one or several reasons not related to the employee, provided that they amount to at least five dismissals.

Both individual and collective redundancy requires a specific procedure to be followed, with certain additional steps in the case of a collective redundancy (eg, consultation with the trade union/employee representatives, etc).

Resignation

The law does not require an employee’s resignation to be motivated.

Notice Period

This is required in specific dismissal cases (ie, professional unfitness; physical unfitness and/or mental incapacity; for reasons unrelated to the employee and consisting of the removal of the employee's position).

The minimum notice period provided by law to be offered by the employer in case of a dismissal is 20 business days. Longer notice periods can be agreed under the CBA and/or an individual employment agreement. 

The notice period provided by law to be offered by the employee in case of resignation is a maximum of 20 business days for employees in non-management positions and 45 business days for those in management positions. 

Where the employer breaches its contractual obligations, the employee is allowed to resign without prior notice. 

Severance

Severance may not be offered in lieu of notice, but should be paid in addition.

Although the law does not require that a specific termination severance should be granted to the employee in case of termination of the individual employment agreement by mutual consent of the parties, the employee may receive compensation based on the parties’ negotiation.

With regard to dismissal, there are certain cases where it is required by law that severance should be offered. 

Employees dismissed due to their physical unfitness and/or mental incapacity are entitled to receive a termination severance as established by the CBA or by the individual employment agreement. 

In the case of dismissal for reasons not related to the employee, it is not mandatory under the law for dismissed employees to be paid severance. However, the employees may benefit from compensatory payments according to their individual employment agreement and/or the applicable CBA. 

The law only allows the employer to summarily dismiss the employee due to the employee's severe misconduct or repeated misconduct, after a preliminary disciplinary investigation. 

The disciplinary dismissal decision has to be issued in writing by the employer within 30 calendar days from the date the employer was informed about the disciplinary misconduct(s) (ie, 30 calendar days from the date on which the final report on the preliminary disciplinary investigation was registered on the employer’s registry), but no later than six months after the date on which the disciplinary deed/act was perpetrated.

The employee and the employer are allowed to agree to the termination of an individual employment agreement by mutual consent. The law does not require such an agreement to have a specific format; the consent of the parties in written form being sufficient.

Romanian law recognises specific protection for employees against dismissal in specific cases, including the following:

• during annual holiday paid leave;
• during pregnancy;
• during maternity leave; 
• during medical leave;
• during child-care leave;
• during care leave for a sick child; and
• during quarantine.

The above restrictions are not applicable in cases where the dismissal results from the employer’s bankruptcy, judicial reorganisation (a restructuring or liquidation procedure ordered by a court), or dissolution of the employer.

The members of the elected management bodies of trade union organisations are protected against any form of conditioning, coercion or limitation in the exercise of their functions.

It is forbidden to amend and/or terminate the individual employment agreements of members of trade union organisations for reasons related to trade union membership and trade union activity.

In addition, with respect to employee representatives, the law provides that they cannot be dismissed during the exercise of their functions, on grounds related to the fulfilment of the mandate they received from the employees.

In case of wrongful dismissal claims, the court may annul the dismissal decision and oblige the employer to pay damages equal to the employee’s updated, increased salary, together with any other benefits the employee would have received had the dismissal not occurred and, at the employee’s request, reintegrate the employee into the position they previously held. Employees may also request in court and receive the equivalent of moral prejudice suffered due to the fault of the employer who unlawfully dismissed them.

Non-observance of the court's reinstatement decision by the employer is a criminal offence  sanctioned with imprisonment or a criminal fine.

Romanian law prohibits discrimination with regard to all aspects of employment, on the following grounds: race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion or beliefs, social category, sex and sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, age (with no maximum or minimum age thresholds), disability, non-contagious chronic disease, HIV infection, membership of a disadvantaged category, social origin, political option, family situation or responsibility, and trade union activity or affiliation.

In addition, the law regulates protection from unlawful discrimination of all women and men in employment relationships through, for example:

• equal remuneration for equal work;
• allocation of attributions and responsibilities;
• promotion;
• social benefits and services; and
• evaluation of professional performance.

Once an employee has established grounds on which a presumption of discrimination can be based, it is up to the employer to prove that there has been no discrimination based on objective criteria. In other words, the burden of proof in discrimination claims lies with the employer.

Romanian legislation does not provide specific limits/values for damages ordered by the court to be paid by employers to employees in discrimination cases.

The law expressly provides that specialised sections or panels of judges be established within the court for the purpose of settling labour conflicts and litigation. These types of lawsuits are judged in an urgent procedure in two jurisdictional grades. In the first court, the lawsuits are judged by a panel of one judge, assisted by two judiciary assistants. In an appeal, the lawsuits are judged by a panel of two judges.

Trade union organisations defend the rights of their members, with respect to labour legislation, the statutes of public servants, CBAs and individual employment agreements, as well as with respect to agreements regarding the service relations of public servants, before the courts, jurisdictional bodies, other state institutions or authorities, through their own or elected defenders.

As such, at the request of their members, unions can represent member employees in labour disputes, under the law.

More specifically, in the exercise of their attributions, trade union organisations have the right to undertake any action provided for by law, including filing claims in court on behalf of their members, based on a written power of attorney from them. The claim may not be introduced or continued by the trade union organisation if the member employee concerned expressly opposes or renounces the judgment.

Individual Employment Disputes

In the case of individual employment disputes, the parties will try to settle the situation amicably, based on the principle of good faith. At the conclusion of the individual employment agreement or during its execution, the parties may agree on a clause stating that any individual employment dispute will be resolved amicably, through a conciliation procedure. 

Conciliation implies the amicable settlement of disputes, with the involvement of an external consultant specialised in labour law.

The external consultant chosen by the parties may be a lawyer, an expert in labour law or a mediator specialised in labour law. 

Should the parties reach a solution, the external consultant will prepare a convention providing the agreement of the parties and the manner of settling the conflict, with effect from the date of signature or from a date expressly provided in the said convention.

Collective Work Conflicts

In the case of collective work conflicts, the settlement implies certain mandatory (notification and conciliation) or non-mandatory (mediation and arbitration) steps.

The representative trade union/employee representative has to send a written notification to the employer/the employers’ association on employees’ claims together with their arguments, as well as the proposals for settlement of the conflict.

In turn, the employer/employers’ association is obliged to send a written answer to the trade union/employee representative dealing with the claims. 

A collective work conflict is started after the representative trade union or employee representatives (in the case of collective work conflicts at a company level) notifies the employer about the initiation of such a conflict and notifies the territorial labour inspectorate in writing with a view to conciliation.

Further to the conciliation, should the parties reach an agreement, the collective work conflict will be considered closed.

Where the collective work conflict cannot be solved through conciliation, the parties may decide to initiate a mediation procedure.

For the entire duration of a collective work conflict, the parties involved in the conflict may mutually decide that the claims be subjected to arbitration by the Office for Mediation and Arbitration of collective work conflicts attached to the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice.

Decisions reached by the Office for Mediation and Arbitration are mandatory for all parties. They complete the CBA and become enforceable as of the decision date.

Mediation or arbitration of a collective work conflict is mandatory if the parties have mutually agreed to this, prior to initiation of the strike or during the strike.

The judicial fees, including attorneys' fees, may be claimed in court both by the employee and the employer, and the losing party may be obliged by the court to pay, either entirely or partially, the judicial fees of the other party.

However, by assessing the complexity of the court file (eg, the object of the claim, duration of the case, activities performed by the attorney, etc), the court is entitled to reduce the attorneys’ fees claimed by the winning party.