The conditions of employment are governed by Romanian labor law. The main provisions are contained in the Labor Code governing minimum standards of protection of workers’ rights. The legislation in this area is quite strict, especially regarding limitations on working hours and overtime.
Under the Romanian law, an individual becomes able to work at the age of 16. The natural person may sign a labor agreement as an employee at the age of 15, with the consent of parents or legal representatives, for activities appropriate to the physical development, skills and knowledge, if this does not endanger his health, development and professional training. The employment of persons under age 15 is prohibited.
1. Individual labor agreement
Individual labor agreements must be concluded in a written form, in Romanian. As a rule, they are of unlimited period; by exception, individual labor agreements may be concluded for a limited period, as expressly provided by law. The individual fixed-term labor agreements can’t be concluded for a period longer than 36 months.
2. Temporary work by work agent
The Labor Code regulates temporary work by work agent, which is the work of a temporary employee who has concluded an agreement with a temporary work agency and the user is made to work temporarily under the supervision and direction of the latter. The temporary work agent is a legal person, authorized by the Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Protection, which concludes temporary labor agreements with temporary employees, to make them available for the user, to work on the period fixed by the agreement, under the supervision and direction of the latter. The user is the natural or the legal person to whom and under whose supervision and direction a temporary employee provided by the temporary work agent works.
The period for which the temporary employee is made available to the user to work temporarily under its supervision and direction, to perform a specific and temporary task, is the mission of temporary work. It shall not be longer than 24 months. The duration of the mission of temporary work may be extended for successive periods which, added to the original duration of the mission, can’t exceed a period of 36 months. During the mission, the temporary employee benefits from wages paid by the temporary work agent. The temporary work agent is the one that retains and pays all contributions and taxes due by the temporary employee to state budgets and pays all his contributions due under the law.
3. The normal working time
For full-time employees, the working time is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. For young people aged up to 18 years, working time is 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week. The distribution of working time in the week is, usually, uniform, 8 hours per day for 5 days, two days of rest. Weekly rest is granted on two consecutive days, usually Saturday and Sunday. Depending on the specific business or work performed, the employees can choose an unequal distribution of the working time, with respect to the normal working hours of 40 hours per week. The maximum legal length of the working time may not exceed 48 hours per week, including overtime. Work outside the normal weekly working time is considered overtime. Young people under 18 are not allowed to take extra work.
4. Right to periodic rest
If the daily working time exceeds 6 hours, employees are entitled to a lunch break and other breaks, under the conditions set by the applicable collective labor agreement or the internal rules.
Employees are also entitled to days off during public holidays such as: January 1 and 2, the first and second day of Easter, May 1, the first and second day of Pentecost, Assumption, November 30, December 1, first and second day of Christmas, two days for each of the three annual religious holidays, declared so by religious legal cults, other than Christian, for persons belonging to them.
The right to paid annual leave is granted to all employees, the minimum duration of the leave is 20 working days per year. Non-working holidays, as well as paid holidays established by the applicable collective labor agreement, are not included in the annual leave period.
Employees who work in difficult, dangerous or harmful conditions, blinds, other disabled people and young people aged up to 18 years receive additional annual leave of at least 3 working days.
Employees are also entitled to receive, on request: parental leave for children up to two years or, in case of a disabled child, up to the age of three; parental leave to take care of sick children aged up to seven years old or, in case of a disabled child, for inter-current diseases, up to the age of 18; parental leave and leave for professional training.
5. The right to remuneration of the employee
The law establishes the minimum gross wage guaranteed by payment. Since February 1, 2013, it is 750 lei (about 172 EUR) for a full working program of 168,667 hours average per month in 2013, representing 4.44 lei / hour (about 1 EUR). Starting with July 1, 2013, the gross minimum wage guaranteed payment is set at 800 lei (about 184 EUR) per month for a full-time program of 168,667 hours per month in 2013, representing 4.74 lei / hour (about 1 EUR). The employers are required to calculate and withhold the employees’ contributions when wages are paid. The contributions to the state budget shall be paid by the 25 of the following month.
6. Wage income tax. Social contributions
Wage income tax
- Tax quota is 16%
Contributions paid by employees and withheld by the employer from the gross income:
- Contribution to the unemployment insurance fund: 0.5%
- Social security contribution (SSC): 10.5%
- Health insurance contribution (HIC): 5.5%
The employing company will have to pay in addition to the gross salary of the employee:
- Social security contribution (SSC): 20,8%;
- Contribution to the unemployment insurance fund: 0.5%
- Contribution for leave and health insurance benefits: 0.85%;
- Contribution to the Guarantee Fund of pay claims: 0.25%;
- Health insurance contribution (HIC): 5.2%
- The contribution of insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases (differentiated by risk): 0.15% – 0.85%.
Courtesy of Laurentiu, Laurentiu&Associates