Romania

Impact date: 1 February 2026 to 31 December 2027 A government emergency ordinance (91/2025) has entered into force which modifies how sick leave is paid by the employer.

Previously, the employer paid the sick leave allowance for days one-five, with the government covering the payment from day six. Under the new law, day one of absence becomes unpaid, the employer pays from days two to six, and the government covers the payment from day seven. In practice, the employer continues to pay these amounts but recovers them from the Romanian state through a reimbursement mechanism.

With effect from 1 June 2026, exceptions have been introduced to the non-payment of sick leave on the first day of absence. The first day of medical leave will be paid in the case of:

• maternity leave and maternal risk leave
• leave to care for the patient with oncological diseases
• sick leave for patients included in national health programs
• medical leave certificates issued in the situation of patients receiving the medical services in hospitalization

Further, the law introduced a rule that, for each uninterrupted period of illness, the non-payment of sick leave on the first day of absence is applied only once, even if multiple consecutive medical certificates are issued for the same illness episode, although the effective date for this rule is not expressly stated. Additionally, a new provision introduces the possibility for the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) to verify the legality and validity of medical leave certificates. If a certificate is found to be unlawfully issued, the employee loses the right to sick leave allowance.

Impact date: 9 March 2026

The High Court of Cassation and Justice held that, in relation to payment of untaken leave on termination of employment:

• the three-year limitation period for claiming payment runs from the termination of employment; and
• leave accrued beyond the statutory 18‑month carry‑over period is payable only where the employee was prevented from taking it.

Impact date: 27 April 2026

Several amendments to immigration legislation and employment law have been made. Some of the key employment law amendments include:

• the recruitment, authorizations and monitoring of foreign workers will be conducted through a unique national platform - WorkinRomania.gov.ro
• employers are required to conclude employment contracts with foreign employees both in Romanian and in the language of the employee's country of origin, or in an international language that the foreign employees understands or can reasonably be presumed to understand
• a foreign employee may be hired without presenting the medical fitness certificate at the time of the conclusion of the employment contract. However, the certificate must be obtained no later than the date on which the foreign employee actually begins work
• employers hiring foreign employees must pay remuneration or salary into the bank account of the foreign employee (no cash payment allowed)
• additional mandatory clauses must be included in employment contracts with foreign employees
• a new contravention is introduced: failure by the employer to ensure that the foreign employee performs work corresponding to the COR code (Romanian Classification of Occupations) specified in the employment contract is sanctioned with fines

Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure.

Romania has released its first draft law transposing Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency and equal pay for women and men for equal work or work of equal value. The draft law follows the framework set out in the Directive, but introduces certain specific provisions:

• the pay information required within recruitment: the draft law mentions that the information should be shared with candidates either through the job vacancy post or directly in writing prior to the interview
• when assessing the “work of equal value”, knowledge is also taken into consideration as a criterion
• the deadline for employers to respond to pay information requests is 30 working days
• the draft law proposes amendments to the Labor Code regarding salary confidentiality clauses

Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law proposes that women diagnosed with endometriosis which has been medically certified as a chronic condition, should be entitled (upon request and based on a doctor’s recommendation) to up to one paid day off per month during their menstrual period.

The leave would be considered seniority for employment purposes (i.e. it adds to the employee’s length of service) and the cost would be initially covered by the employer through the salary fund. The employer would be partially reimbursed from the budget of the National Unique Health Insurance Fund, subject to conditions to be established.

Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure.

A draft law seeks to regulate the prevention of professional burnout by requiring employers to address psychosocial risks in the workplace.

Employers would need to inform employees annually about burnout risks, and integrate psychosocial risks into their internal risk assessments.

For employers with more than 50 employees, the draft introduces additional obligations: preparing an annual burnout‑prevention plan, conducting psychosocial risk evaluations, and creating a confidential reporting mechanism that protects employees from any negative consequences for raising burnout‑related concerns. Employers may also choose to offer paid professional‑recovery leave through internal policies.

Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. Draft laws propose amendments to the Occupational Safety Law no. 319/2006 and Law no. 53/2003 - Labor Code, requiring employers to prevent all forms of violence and harassment at work and requiring employers to take action where an employee faces an imminent and serious risk to life, health or safety due to workplace violence or harassment.

The draft law would require employers to develop, in consultation with trade unions or employee representatives, a workplace policy with a confidential reporting mechanism, to integrate violence and harassment prevention and psychosocial risk management into safety measures, to identify and assess risks including those from third parties and take preventive and protective actions, and provide workers with accessible training and information on the risks, prevention measures, and their rights and responsibilities under the policy.

The draft law would also allow employers to temporarily modify the employee’s duties or location with their consent to ensure safety, or, if this is not possible, provide paid leave. Additionally, employers would be required to designate at least one employee whose job description includes responsibilities for preventing workplace harassment and violence.

Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law proposes an amendment to the Pensions Law no. 360/2023 in order to state that age-limit pension (i.e. the standard retirement pension) is granted to individuals who meet both the standard retirement age and the minimum contribution period. Receiving and exercising the right to a pension is no longer conditional on terminating or suspending employment, and continuing to work after retirement cannot lead to the suspension, limitation, or withdrawal of the pension.