Romania
Extension of telework rights
Impact date: 12 October 2025 On 12 October 2025 Law no. 149/2025 entered into force, amending the Labor Code. The new law introduced a change concerning the telework days employees (under certain circumstances) are entitled to. Consequently, employees in Romania are entitled to request the following days of teleworking, except in situations where the nature or type of work does not allow for such conditions:
- Employees raising a child under the age of 18 – entitled to four days/month
- Employees raising a child with disabilities under the age of 18 – entitled to eight days/month
- Employees raising two or more children with disabilities under the age of 18 – entitled to eight days plus two additional days/month for each child
- Employees raising twins, triplets or other multiples under the age of 18 – entitled to baseline entitlement plus two additional days/month for each child
Employer implications/action needed Employers will be required to grant employees the appropriate telework days.
Employer risk N/A
Link Law Link
Temporary incapacity for work (case law)
Impact date: 20 October 2025 The High Court of Justice issued a decision on 29 September 2025 regarding the dismissal of an employee during a period of temporary incapacity of work.
According to Labor Law, an employee cannot be dismissed during a period of temporary incapacity for work certified by a medical document. This led to inconsistent practice among national courts interpreting either that this prohibition applies to the date the dismissal decision is issued or the date it takes effect.
The High Court of Justice resolved this by ruling that the prohibition strictly concerns the moment the dismissal decision is issued - meaning that no dismissal decision may be legally made while the employee is on medical leave, regardless of when such decision is communicated or when it takes effect.
Employer implications/action needed N/A
Employer risk A dismissal decision issued during a period of temporary incapacity for work will be declared null and void.
Link N/A
Reinstatement of an employee (case law)
Impact date: 28 November 2025 The High Court of Justice ruled on 20 October 2025 that if a court orders reinstatement of an employee to a former position held before a dismissal, the employer’s execution of such decision means notifying the employee of:
(i) the reactivation of the individual employment agreement and
(ii) the exact date on which the employee is expected to resume work
Employer implications/action needed Employers must notify an employee of the reactivation of the individual employment agreement and the exact date on which the employee is expected to resume work.
Employer risk Failure to comply with court decisions constitutes a criminal offense.
Link Decision link
Maternity risk leave (case law)
Impact date: Pending - the decision will be mandatory from the date of publication in the Official Gazette The High Court of Justice ruled on 20 October 2025 that, although the Labor Law does not explicitly list maternity leave as a ground for automatic suspension of the individual employment contract, it must be treated similarly to temporary incapacity for work and therefore should be a case of automatic suspension of the individual employment contract as well.
Employer implications/action needed N/A
Employer risk N/A
Link Decision link
Minimum wage
Impact date: Pending - the decision will be mandatory from the date of publication in the Official Gazette A draft law proposes a differentiated minimum wage based on seniority and level of education, establishing five seniority levels with additional percentages applied to the basic minimum wage, as well as ranking coefficients for different levels of education.
As per the draft law, the guaranteed minimum gross base salary is increased by a different percentage depending on the grade, as follows:
- Grade 1 (three to five years of service) by 10%
- Grade 2 (five to ten years of service) by 7.5%
- Grade 3 (ten to 15 years of service) by 5%
- Grade 4 (15 to 20 years of service) by 2.5%
- Grade 5 (over 20 years of service) by 2.5%
In addition, the minimum gross base will also be increased by a coefficient based on the level of education.
Employer implications/action needed The change may require amendments to employees salaries. Employers should monitor the progress of the draft law.
Employer risk Failure to comply with these rules will result in fines of between RON 5,000 and 10,000 (approx. €1,000 and €2,000) for each employee affected.
Link Draft law
Compensation for work performed on weekly rest days (case law)
Impact date: Pending - the decision will be mandatory from the date of publication in the Official Gazette The High Court of Justice ruled on 24 November 2025 that, after a period of continuous activity that cannot exceed 14 calendar days, the compensation for work performed on weekly rest days, equal to double the compensation for overtime, is due to the employee even if the work performed on weekly rest days is not outside the normal working hours.
The above is pending clarification as the full ruling has not yet been published.
Employer implications/action needed N/A
Employer risk N/A
Link Decision link
Employees with more than one job
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. When signing an individual employment contract or in the event of a change in working hours, an employee who has concluded several individual employment contracts is required to declare, on their own responsibility (i.e. with personal accountability and without needing external verification at the time of signing), the existence of other individual employment contracts concluded with public institutions and authorities. This is part of efforts to ensure transparency and avoid conflicts of interest, especially in the public sector.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should monitor the progress of the draft law.
Employer risk N/A
Bigger fines for undeclared work
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. The hiring of one or more people without concluding an individual employment contract will be sanctioned with higher fines. It is proposed that the fine will be between 40,000 RON (approx. €7,800) and 1,000,000 RON (approx. €200,000). Currently, the amount of the fine is between 20,000 RON (approx. €4,000) and 200,000 RON (approx. €40,000).
Employer implications/action needed Employers should monitor the progress of the draft law.
Employer risk N/A
Link Draft law link
New types of individual employment agreement
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law has proposed two new types of individual employment agreement:
- “At request” agreements: where, for specific types of work, the employee provides their services at the employer’s request, on the days and basis determined by the employer. The employee must be paid a salary corresponding to at least 32 working hours per month. This type of employment agreement would only be available to those working in agriculture; hunting (and related areas); the organizing of exhibitions, fairs and congresses, publicity and other leisure activities
- Individual employment agreements with several employers: where the employee performs work for several employers, carrying out the same type of activity and duties. This type of agreement would only be available to employers within the same group of companies
Employer implications/action needed No action needed at this time, although employers should monitor the progress of the draft law.
Employer risk N/A
Professional training coupons
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. Professional training must be provided by employers at regular intervals according to the provisions of the Labor Code. A draft law proposes a State aid scheme for employers for the purpose of facilitating employee participation in professional training programs. The mechanism consists of granting employers a determined number of coupons with a certain value, depending on the number of employees and the type of professional training provided, which will cover the employer’s expenses in observing the training obligation.
Employer implications/action needed No action needed at this time, although employers should monitor the progress of the draft law.
Employer risk N/A
Birthday leave
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law proposes a new right to a paid day off on the occasion of an employee’s birthday.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should monitor the progress of the proposed draft law. Currently, the proposal does not provide details of the manner in which the extra day off will be granted, including how the leave will be treated if the employee’s birthday falls on a non-working day or on a public holiday.
Employer risk N/A
Compensatory measures for employers for public holidays
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. Draft laws propose that:
- Private sector employers will receive compensatory measures, such as tax facilities, deductions, compensation or other similar fiscal measures, to mitigate the extra expenses incurred where additional public holidays are implemented and
- Employers will be allowed to claim reimbursement of the pay granted to employees who work on the public holidays regulated by the Labor Code. Employers would need to submit a request for reimbursement to the Territorial Workforce Authority, accompanied by an affidavit and a list of employees who have worked on the respective public holidays
Employer implications/action needed Employers should monitor the progress of the draft laws.
Employer risk N/A
Amendments to the Labor Code
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law proposes amendments to the Labor Code, including the possibility to have reduced daily and weekly rest and the elimination of the right to at least ten consecutive days of uninterrupted annual leave. The draft law also includes provisions on overlapping work schedules and compensation for overtime through paid time off over a longer period than the law currently provides.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should monitor the progress of the draft law and, where necessary, update their internal regulation to take account of these pending changes.
Employer risk N/A
Bank Holidays
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law provides that if bank holidays fall in the regular weekly rest days (i.e., Saturdays and Sundays), employees will receive paid leave on the following working days.
Employer implications/action needed No action needed at this time.
Employer risk N/A
Suspension of the labor contract
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law proposes that if an employee has been prosecuted as a result of a complaint made by the employer, the individual employment contract may be suspended.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should monitor the progress of the draft law.
Employer risk N/A
Mandate contracts
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. Emphasizing the importance of recognizing and rewarding long service, a draft law proposes that work performed under a mandate contract (i.e. a legal agreement where one party (the mandator) assigns another party (the mandatary) to perform certain tasks or services on their behalf) should count towards employment seniority.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should monitor the progress of the draft law.
Employer risk N/A
Electronic signature
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law proposes that the use of simple electronic signatures currently used for labor-related documents will be eliminated. If the simple electronic signature is eliminated, employment documents should be signed either with advanced or qualified electronic signatures or wet ink instead.
Employer implications/action needed Internal procedures will need to be amended in order to eliminate simple electronic signature for employment documents. Employers should monitor the progress of the draft law.
Employer risk N/A
Link Draft law link
Medical leave allowance
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law proposes that medical leave allowance would be paid by the National Health Insurance Fund starting from the first day of incapacity, based solely on a medical certificate.
Currently, medical leave allowances are paid by the employer for the first five days, after which the National Health Insurance Fund covers the allowance.
Employer implications/action needed This change may require an amendment to the payroll process.
Employer risk N/A
Link Draft law link
Trade union negotiations – working model
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure.
A draft law proposes that the working model will be determined through negotiation with employees and/or trade union or employee representatives. Currently, employers unilaterally establish the work organization model.
Employer implications/action needed This may necessitate adjustments within the HR department who will manage the negotiations.
Employer risk N/A
Link Draft law link.
Trade union negotiations – internal regulations
Impact date: Awaited, pending procedure. A draft law proposes that internal regulations will be drafted through actual negotiation with the trade union or employee representatives. Currently, internal regulations are drafted by the employer only in consultation with the trade union or employee representatives.
Employer implications/action needed N/A
Employer risk N/A
Link Draft law link.
Health and safety
Impact date: The proposal is no longer available A draft law proposes that employers must ensure regular mental health assessments for workers at risk of occupational exhaustion, conducted by the occupational doctor.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should monitor the progress of the draft law.
Employer risk N/A
Link N/A
New obligations on preventing harassment at the workplace
Impact date: The proposal is no longer available A draft amendment to the Labor Code was proposed to strengthen regulations on preventing and combating workplace violence and harassment.
The amendments include:
- broader definitions of violence and harassment
- the obligation that at least one employee must be assigned responsibilities for preventing harassment and violence, through job description,
- expanded employer obligations to mitigate related risks, etc.
Employer implications/action needed Once in force, employers must inform, instruct, and train all employees, including volunteers and job candidates on the identified dangers and risks of violence and harassment and the associated prevention and protection measures. Employers should also update internal regulations to include specific rules on preventing and combating violence and harassment at the workplace.
Employer risk Failure by the employer to take the necessary measures in order to protect victims may result in fines of 5,000–10,000 RON.
Link N/A
New regulations for workers with disabilities
Impact date: The proposal is no longer available A law project has been proposed by the Romanian Ministry of Labor and Social Protection with respect to the working schedule of people with disabilities.
Currently, the law includes provision for workers with disabilities to work reduced hours (less than eight hours per day) without a reduction in salary. The draft law seeks to regulate the right of disabled employees to receive full salary, including a requirement for proof of disability and a medical recommendation to work reduced hours. Working hours may be reduced by a maximum of four hours per day in the case of severe disability or by a maximum of two hours per day in the case of pronounced disability.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should monitor the progress of the proposed law project. Policies and processes may need to be updated to require proof of disability and medical support for reduced hours.
Employer risk N/A
Link N/A
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