Welcome to Romania!

There are no official subcategories of Workers in Romania.

Fixed-term contracts are permitted for specific reasons such as seasonal business, the replacement of temporarily absent workers, and in cases of a temporary rise in business but must not exceed 36 months. A fixed term contract cannot be extended more than two times, and cannot exceed the 36 month maximum with the extension(s). Depending upon the length of the contract, anywhere from 5 to 45 days' notice may be required to terminate the agreement.

Probationary periods are permitted for up to 90 days. For workers in management positions, a probationary period of 120 days is permissible. Notice is not required to terminate an employment agreement during the probationary period if the Worker is deemed professionally unfit.

In Romania, Workers recognize 15 paid public holidays. If work is performed on a public holiday, it should be compensated with a paid day off in lieu within 30 days or, if not possible, 200% of wages.

Workers are entitled to at least 20 working days of paid vacation each year. The vacation allowance should be paid five days before the commencement of leave. A Worker can request to take leave in multiple periods, but one of the periods must be 10 days. Generally, vacation should be taken in the year it is earned, but that may be extended to a maximum of 18 months after the year of accrual. Vacation time cannot be 'cashed out.' However, accrued but unused vacation is payable at the termination of the employment relationship.

After one month of service, Workers are entitled to paid medical leave when they have an injury or illness. The maximum duration of paid time off is 183 days per year, which can be increased up to 18 months for certain illnesses. Employers are responsible for issuing sick leave pay, but may recover amounts paid beyond five days of absence by deduction from other payment obligations to the state.

A standard workweek in Romania is 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. Work performed at night (between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.) cannot exceed 8 hours within 24 hours. Workers are entitled to a 30-minute unpaid meal break after six hours of work. Shifts should be separated by 12 hours of consecutive rest. Weekly, Workers should be afforded two consecutive days of rest.

Hours exceeding the standard workweek are considered overtime. A worker must consent to performing overtime work. Overtime must not exceed 8 hours per week except in limited, exceptional circumstances. Overtime should be compensated with paid leave during the usual work time within 60 days of when the overtime was worked. If that is not possible, overtime may be compensated at 175%.

A 13th month salary is not mandatory or customary in Romania.

Except in cases of severe or repeated breach of duty, termination requires at least 20 working days' notice after conducting a disciplinary investigation. Dismissal for poor performance can only take place after the employer has verified the Worker's professional competence and determined that other suitable work is not available. Dismissal for economic reasons must be reinforced by strong economic justification. 

Workers in non-management positions may provide up to 20 working days' notice of resignation (45 working days for management positions). Workers may resign without notice if the employer fails to fulfill its contractual obligations.

Redundancies are the termination of employment by the employer due to economic grounds, without grounds or fault by the employee. Redundancies are generally based on economic grounds and must reveal a real and serious cause for a reduction in the number of jobs available.

Workers and their employers contribute to a social security scheme that provides pensions, healthcare, and unemployment benefits.

"Maternity and Paternity Leave Romanian law provides for a period of 126 mandatory maternity leave days, of which 63 days can be granted before the due date and 63 days after the due date. The employee can receive more than 63 days for each of the periods, but has to benefit from at least 42 days of leave after the due date. The maternity leave is considered a medical leave, the employee’s physician being the deciding factor in how the days are divided between the two periods. Apart from maternity leave, parents can also benefit from a paid leave in order to raise a young child, up to 2 years of age . During this leave period the parent receives an indemnity that is a percentage of the income the parent had prior to the leave period. Incentives are granted to parents that return to work before the 2-year period expires. The indemnity is not paid by the employer. Sickness Leave Medical leave is granted to the employee if the illness prevents him/her from performing his/her activity. The medical leave indemnity is paid by both employer and the state healthcare system depending on the number of days of medical leave. The first 5 days of medical indemnity are paid by the employer and the rest of the period by the state healthcare system. The indemnity is a percentage of the income of the employee. Other Required or Typically Provided Leave(s) Employees have the right to paid or unpaid training leave. The employer has to grant paid training leave if he failed to ensure the periodic training of the employee. Unpaid training leave can be granted to employees who engage in training activities on their own initiative. Parents have the right to receive paid leave if they have children under the age of 12 enrolled in schools where classes were suspended due to exceptional events (such as extreme weather or medical crisis). Only one of the parents can benefit from this type of leave and only if neither of the parents work from home."