Romanian labour law does not distinguish between blue-collar and white-collar workers, nor does it define such concepts. On the other hand, other employee statuses are recognised, depending on the type of employment contract concluded, such as full-time workers and part-time workers, office-based workers and tele-workers, agency workers, etc. Moreover, a legal regime applicable to casual workers is expressly provided (ie, so-called day labourers who perform certain unskilled activities on an occasional basis), and certain professions require workers to meet specific education and training conditions (doctors, pharmacists, certain professions in the IT sector, lawyers, police officers, etc).

Under the Romanian labour legislation, employment contracts should generally be concluded for an indefinite duration. However, employment contracts may be concluded for a definite duration if certain conditions are met.

Mandatory Requirement of Written Form Contracts

Both indefinite and definite employment contracts have to be concluded in writing and must provide the minimum elements required by law, such as:

• the identification details of the employer and employee;
• the headquarters/domicile of the employer;
• the workplace or, in lack of a fixed workplace, the possibility for the employee to perform the work in different workplaces;
• the job position and job description (with the specification of the job attributions);
• the risks specific to the job position;
• the date on which the employment agreement takes effect;
• the basic salary, the other constitutive elements of the salary income, the periodicity of salary payments and the method of payment;
• the duration of the annual holiday;
• the duration and conditions of the trial period;
• the notice period;
• the normal working schedule and the conditions of performing and compensating overtime work; and
• procedures on the use of electronic signatures, advanced electronic signatures and qualified electronic signatures, etc.

Mandatory Requirements Specific to a Definite Employment Contract

In addition to the above mandatory elements, a definite employment contract must expressly provide the duration of the agreement. Failure to comply with this requirement may indicate that the employment contract is concluded for an indefinite duration.

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

• the replacement of employees with suspended individual employment agreements (except where the employee is a strike participant);
• a temporary increase and/or amendment of the employer's activity structure;
• the performance of seasonal activities;
• hiring a person who will fulfil the retirement conditions under the law in five years following the date of the agreement’s conclusion;
• during the office of an employee who is holding an eligible position within a trade union, employers’ organisation or non-governmental organisation;
• the hiring of persons who, under the law, are entitled to accumulate the pension with a salary; and
• in other circumstances provided by special laws, or for the accomplishment of works, projects or programmes.

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

• the (initial) definite agreement may be concluded for a maximum period 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 no more than three successive definite employment contracts.

A definite employment contract may include a trial period, which should be limited to:

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

Trial Period in Indefinite Employment Contracts

In indefinite employment contracts, the duration of the trial period cannot exceed:

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

General Rules on the Working Schedule

The normal working schedule for full-time employees is eight hours per day and 40 hours per week, or six hours per day and 30 hours per week for young people under the age of 18.

The maximum working time may not exceed 48 hours per week, including overtime.

Overtime Requirements

The law provides an exception under which the maximum working time, including overtime, may exceed 48 hours per week if the average working hours calculated over a four-month reference period does not exceed 48 hours per week.

Reference periods of longer than four months but limited to six months for establishing the average working time may be negotiated between the parties for certain activities or professions, as provided for under the applicable collective bargaining agreement (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 six months but not exceeding 12 months.

Young people under the age of 18 have a normal work time of six hours per day and 30 hours per week, and this category may not perform overtime.

Flexible Work Arrangements

While the general rule is that the weekly working schedule should be uniform (ie, eight hours per day and 40 hours per week, with two days of weekly rest), depending on the specifics of the company or of the job, an unequal repartition of the working time may be established if the normal duration of working time (ie, 40 hours per week) is observed.

Moreover, the law allows an employer to set individualised work programmes (involving a flexible organisation of the working time), subject to observing certain legal requirements.

Based on the parties’ consent expressed in writing, teleworking employment contracts, work-from-home employment contracts and part-time employment contracts may be concluded, with specific clauses required by law for each type of contract.

Part-time Employment Agreement

This involves a working schedule shorter than the normal working schedule of eight hours per day and 40 hours per week, without other limits with respect to the number of hours to be performed under part-time arrangements being provided by law.

Part-time employees may not be used to carry out overtime work, except in cases of force majeure and when 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, covering:

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

If these mandatory clauses are absent, a part-time arrangement will be regarded as a full-time agreement.

Part-time workers have the same rights as full-time employees, in the conditions set forth by the law and the applicable CBA.

National Minimum Wage

The national minimum wage amounts to roughly RON18,145 per hour, or RON3,000 per month for a full-time working schedule of 40 hours per week (approximately 165 hours per month).

By way of exception, until 31 December 2028, the national minimum wage for the construction industry amounts to RON4,000 for a full working schedule of approximately 165 hours per month. This salary does not include any bonuses or other supplements that may otherwise apply, and covers only certain expressly regulated activities.

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

The minimum wage for part-time workers will be calculated on a pro rata basis.

Other

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

The minimum salary levels are established by the applicable CBAs, with the observance of the minimum wage established as per the law at national level.

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

All employees are entitled to annual paid vacation. The law sets a minimum of 20 working days per year, with no distinction between part-time employees and full-time employees. Under the applicable CBA, internal regulations or individual employment contracts, additional annual vacation days may be provided on top of the minimum provided by law.

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 a collective/individual scheduling of work. If the annual vacation cannot be taken partially or fully within the respective calendar year (only due to justified reasons), the employer is bound to grant such untaken annual vacation in a period of 18 months starting with the next year.

Pay in lieu of annual vacation is not allowed, except upon the termination of the employment contract.

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 the salary rights to which the employee was entitled 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

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

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

Medical Leave

Employees are entitled to benefit from medical leave and related allowance as long 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 prior to the month for which the sick leave is granted).

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

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

Childcare Leave

Persons 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 childcare leave of up to two years, or up to three years in the case of a disabled child. During the childcare leave period, the employee is entitled to a monthly allowance equal to 85% of their average net income over the last 12 months by reference to the last two years preceding the date when the child was born. The childcare allowance may not be less than 2.5 times the Social Reference Indicator (currently RON598) and cannot exceed RON8,500.

Other

In certain circumstances expressly provided under the law, employees may also benefit from other types of paid leave, such as adoption leave, paternity leave, paid leave for special family events, professional training leave, maternal risk leave, etc.

Confidentiality Obligation

While employees are generally bound under the law to observe the confidentiality of information and documents used for the fulfilment of their job-related tasks, the parties to an employment contract may decide to add further detail to such confidentiality obligation.

Therefore, the employer and the employee may enter into a confidentiality agreement or may include within the employment contract a detailed confidentiality clause, while the employer may separately define the confidentiality in its internal regulations, CBA or internal policies.

Under the confidentiality clause, the parties may agree that, for the entire duration of the individual employment contract 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, the collective bargaining contracts or the individual employment contracts. Failure to observe this clause will result in the defaulting party’s obligation to pay the corresponding damages.

Employees’ Liability

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

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

The conditions for triggering the above types of liability are strictly regulated by mandatory legal 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. Any damage that exceeds this threshold can only be recovered through the intervention of the court.

Also, in order to trigger the disciplinary liability of the employee, the employer must follow the strict procedure provided under the law and apply only the disciplinary sanctions listed under said law by taking into consideration the seriousness of the disciplinary misconduct.

Non-competition clauses have an express legal regime under employment law and may be enforced only after the termination of the employment contract.

The mandatory terms and conditions of a non-competition clause must include:

• the restricted activities;
• the non-competition allowance;
• the duration of the non-competition obligation; and
• the third parties for whom the employee is not allowed to perform the restricted activities.

A non-competition clause may be enforced for a maximum of two years from the termination of the employment contract.

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

Courts are entitled to diminish the effects of a non-competition clause in order to allow the employee to perform their profession in case of claims of the employee or the territorial labour authority.

Non-competition allowance is mandatory, with the employer having to pay a monthly allowance of at least 50% of the average gross salary income of the employee in the six months prior to the termination of the employment contract.

Non-solicitation Clause With Reference to Employees

Non-solicitation clauses with reference to employees are not expressly regulated under Romanian employment law, but nor are they prohibited by such law, so the employer and the employee may agree the conclusion of such a clause. However, depending on the concrete content of the clause, on a case-by-case basis, the courts may decide that it is entirely/partially an abusive clause.

Due to the lack of an expressly regulated legal regime, there is no maximum duration, and compensation is not legally required to be paid. However, in practice, the duration of such a clause should not exceed 12 months after the termination of the employment contract.

Non-solicitation Clause With Reference to Customers

Although non-solicitation clauses with reference to customers are not regulated by the Romanian Labour Code, the misappropriation of customers by using the trade secrets of an employer or former employer is expressly provided by Romanian Unfair Competition Law No 11/1991. As such, an employee and employer may agree to conclude a wider and more detailed non-solicitation clause subject to keeping a limited and objective category of customers (eg, those customers with whom the employee has had personal dealings). An intervention of the court to diminish the effects of a non-solicitation clause should not be excluded.

While the law does not set a maximum duration and compensation is not legally required to be paid, in practice the duration of such a clause should not exceed 12 months after the termination of the employment contract.

The Romanian legal framework includes the following main laws reflecting the data privacy rules applicable in the employment 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;
• Law No 361/2022 on the protection of whistle-blowers in the public interest; and
• Law No 53/2003 on the Labour Code.

In accordance with the data protection provisions, employers must apply and comply with the 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 the legitimate purpose (data minimisation); and
• inform their employees of the purpose and use of their personal data, and provide them with clear information on 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, and the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing. Employers must also take all necessary measures to protect employees’ personal data against unauthorised access, loss and destruction.

The employment regime in Romania for individuals who are not citizens of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss Confederation is different from the regime for individuals who are.

Foreign citizens (referred to under the law as non-EEA citizens, non-EU citizens and non-Swiss Confederation citizens) may enter Romania if they fulfil several strict conditions provided under the immigration legislation. Furthermore, such citizens may work in Romania if the employer obtains a work/posting notice (aviz de angajare/de detasare) from the General Inspectorate for Immigration (GII).

On the other hand, citizens of EU/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 fulfilling additional conditions. For stays longer than three months, citizens of the EU/EEA/Swiss Confederation must fulfil certain requirements, such as acquiring the statute of a worker in Romania.

A work notice issued by GII is valid for the entire duration of the employment agreement, while a posting notice issued by GII is, in principle, valid for a maximum of one year within the period of five years prior to the submission of the posting notice request.

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 on the Romanian territory;
• have acquired a form of protection in Romania;
• have free access to the Romanian labour market regulated by treaties concluded by Romania with other states;
• are appointed head of subsidiaries, representative offices or branches of a company with headquarters abroad;
• are family members of Romanian citizens and have temporary residence rights for a family reunion; and
• have temporary residence rights for studies, etc.

The number of work/posting notices that may be issued is established annually by government decision, depending on the concrete status of the Romanian labour market and the policy in the field of labour force migration. For 2023, the government established that 100,000 foreign workers could be newly admitted to the Romanian labour market.

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

The Romanian Labour Code provides scarce guidelines in regard to mobile work, through the express regulation of the mobility clause to be inserted in the employment contracts in the case of mobile employees. Through such mobility clause under the meaning of the law, the parties to an employment contract establish that the employee's performance of work-related duties may not be accomplished in a fixed/stable workplace, considering the specifics of the job position. Furthermore, it is mandatory for the employee to benefit from additional payments in money or in kind. Examples of classic mobile employees in the meaning of the Labour Code include medical representatives, sales agents and professional drivers (including international drivers who benefit from a special legal regime and protection rules).

Mobile employees within the meaning of the Labour Code have the same legal status as other employees from the point of view of data protection, health and safety and social security regulations. While said legal enactment does not provide a special legal regime for mobile employees in the field of data privacy or occupational health and safety, it is advisable for employers to pay greater attention and include in the employment contracts or internal policies rules concerning the health and safety obligations of both the employer and the employee, data privacy rules and rules on the evidence and registration of the working hours.

Apart from the classic mobile employees, other teleworkers may fall within the category of mobile employees depending on the specifics of the job position and the regulations within their employment contract.

As such, teleworkers are those employees who consistently and voluntarily perform the duties specific to their position, occupation or profession in a place other than the workplace organised by the employer, using information and communication technology. Since the law does not set any limitations on the places for performing the work, teleworkers may carry out their duties in multiple locations by using information and communication technology.

The performance of work through teleworking must be expressly provided within the employment contract. In addition to the mandatory requirements to be provided within any employment contract, an employment contract or the addendum thereto concluded for the performance of teleworking must contain specific, mandatory requirements.

The Romanian legislation on teleworking provides certain provisions with respect to the health and safety of the teleworker, including the obligations of the employer and employee in this respect, considering the specificity of the work performance. On the other hand, teleworkers have the same legal status as other employees from the point of view of data protection regulations.

Under Romanian legislation, the concept of sabbatical leave is known (and regulated) as unpaid leave. An employment contract may be suspended through the parties' consent in the case of unpaid leave for studies or for personal interests.

Consequently, employees are entitled to unpaid leave to solve personal problems, the duration of which is to be established within the CBA or the internal regulations of the company, as the case may be. Also, unpaid leave for studies (ie, professional training) should be granted at the employee’s request, for the duration of any such training the employee is attending on their own initiative. The employer may reject such a request only if the employee's absence from work could seriously damage the employer's activity.

Following the European trend, the implementation of the “digital nomad” and their visa regime was recently regulated, aiming to legalise the status of travelling professionals.

The law defines the digital nomad as a person who is employed under an employment agreement by a company registered outside Romania and who provides services using information and communication technology, or who owns a company registered outside Romania, for which they provide services through the use of information and communication technology and can carry out the activity remotely.

Digital nomads benefit from a specific visa requirements regime compared to other foreigners.

Trade union organisations (ie, trade unions, federations or confederations) can be set up at a national level, in the sector of collective negotiation or group of units, and at unit level. They are established with the purpose of defending the collective and individual rights of employees in line with the applicable legislation, CBAs and employment contract, 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 statutes.

The law stipulates that every individual who has concluded an employment contract or who is in a legal labour relationship (including employees aged between 16 and 18 years) has the right, without any restriction or prior authorisation, to constitute or join a trade union, as do public servants and public servants holding a special status under the law, co-operating members and employed farmers, and independent workers. By way of exception, certain categories of individuals are not allowed to establish or join a trade union (eg, magistrates, various military personnel).

According to the law, a trade union can be set up with a minimum of ten employees/workers working within the same unit, or a minimum of 20 employees/workers from different units of the same sector of collective negotiation.

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 the behalf of the employees, negotiations, dispute settlement procedures through conciliation, mediation, arbitration, petition, protest picket, march, rally and demonstration or strike, under the conditions provided by law.

Trade unions may also negotiate and conclude CBAs (provided that they meet certain legal conditions) and represent their members through an institutionalised social dialogue procedure as described by special regulations.

Status/Role of Employee Representatives

In companies with at least ten employees/workers and where there are no trade unions, the employees are entitled to elect employee representatives to promote and defend their rights. Unlike trade unions, which operate on the basis of statutory rules, elected employee representatives are not constituted as an independent body, but rather represent an ad hoc group empowered to defend and promote the interests of the employees.

Election Conditions

Employees’ representatives are elected by the employees’ general meeting with the vote of at least 50% + 1 of the total number of employees/workers within the unit, provided that they have full legal capacity (ie, are at least 18 years old). The mandate of the employees' representatives is for a maximum duration of two years.

The number of elected representatives should be mutually agreed with the employer by reference to the total number of employees. If the employees and the employer do not reach an agreement, the total number of employee representatives is capped under the law depending on the total number of employees within the employer (two representatives for employers with fewer than 100 employees/workers; three representatives for employers with between 101 and 500 employees/workers, etc).

General Tasks/Attributions

In accordance with the law, employee representatives perform certain main tasks, such as:

• ensuring that employees’ rights are complied with;
• participating in drawing up the company’s internal regulations;
• notifying the labour inspectorate of any non-compliance with the applicable legal provisions and collective labour agreement; and
• participating in the negotiation and conclusion of collective labour agreements.

Nevertheless, employee representatives may not perform any tasks considered to fall under the exclusive prerogative of trade unions.

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

Negotiation of a CBA

Negotiation of the CBA is mandatory for units with at least ten employees, and also at the sector of collective negotiation level.

Duration of a CBA

The CBA may be concluded for a determined period of at least 12 months, but no longer than 24 months, except in situations where the CBA is concluded for the duration of executing a determined task/project. Also, the CBA may be extended only once, for no longer than 12 months.

Categories of CBA

The CBA may be negotiated at:

• unit level;
• group of units level;
• sectors of collective negotiation level; or
• national level.

The employees’ rights and obligations agreed under employment contracts cannot be established at a lower level than those provided under the applicable CBA.

Motivation is required in all cases of termination of an employment contract at the initiative of the employer (ie, dismissal).

The Romanian Labour Code expressly provides the cases of employment termination and the relevant conditions for each termination case.

De Jure Termination

De jure termination occurs in limited and specific cases provided by law (death of the employee or of the employer natural person; dissolution of the employer; absolute nullity of the employment contract; expiration of the employment contract concluded for a definite period, etc).

For some de jure termination cases (expiration of the employment contract concluded for a definite period, etc), the employer has to issue an ascertaining decision within five business days from the occurrence of the de jure termination case.

Termination by Mutual Consent of the Parties

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

Termination at the Initiative of the Employer or the Employee

The termination of the employment contract may also occur unilaterally, at the initiative of either the employer (dismissal) or the employee (resignation).

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 under the law and may be used by the employer in the following cases:

• if the employee perpetrated a serious disciplinary offence or in cases of repeated disciplinary offences;
• if the employee is taken into preventative custody or domicile arrest for a period exceeding 30 days;
• in the case of physical unfitness and/or mental incapacity that prevents the employee from accomplishing their work duties; or
• in the case of professional unfitness.

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

Dismissal for reasons not related to the employee’s person (“redundancy”) represents the termination of the employment contract by the removal of the employee’s position. Such removal of a position must be effective and have a real and serious cause.

The redundancy may be individual or collective.

Collective Dismissal/Redundancy

Collective dismissal is a dismissal of the following numbers of employees, within a period of 30 calendar days, due to one or several reasons not related to the employee:

• at least ten employees, if the employer has between 20 and 100 employees;
• at least 10% of the employees, if the employer has between 100 and 300 employees; and
• at least 30 employees, if the employer has at least 300 employees.

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

Resignation

Resignation must be made through a written notice and communicated to the employer, who is obliged to register the resignation of the employee. The law does not require the employee’s resignation to be motivated.

Notice Period

A notice period is required in specific dismissal cases (ie, for professional unfitness; for physical unfitness and/or mental incapacity; or for reasons not related to the employee due to the removal of the employee's position). According to the law, the minimum notice period in the case of dismissal is 20 business days. Longer notice periods can be agreed under the CBA and/or individual employment contract.

The notice period provided under the law 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 a specific termination severance to be granted to the employee in case of termination of the employment contract 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 the law requires severance to be offered. Therefore, employees dismissed due to their physical unfitness and/or mental incapacity are entitled to receive a termination severance as established by the CBA or the individual employment contract.

In the case of dismissal for reasons not related to the employee, the law does not provide for the mandatory payment of severance to dismissed employees. However, the employees may benefit from compensatory payments according to their individual employment contract and/or the applicable CBA.

The concept of dismissal for cause is not regulated as such under Romanian law, but it generally refers to disciplinary dismissal or dismissal for professional unfitness, as the case may be.

While the disciplinary dismissal is seen as the most severe disciplinary sanction, the law allows the employer to use it in cases of gross/severe misconduct or in cases of repeated misconduct, subject to performing 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, but no later than six months after the date on which the disciplinary deed was perpetrated.

Also, dismissal for professional unfitness/poor performance may be used by the employer if a prior professional evaluation is performed according to the evaluation procedure under the CBA, or under the internal regulations if there is no CBA.

The differentiation criterion between disciplinary infringements and poor performance is based on the guilt of the employee.

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

Romanian law provides specific protection against dismissal for employees in certain cases expressly provided, including during:

• annual holiday paid leave;
• pregnancy (to the extent the employer took notice of the pregnancy prior to the dismissal decision);
• maternity leave;
• medical leave;
• leave for raising a child up to two years, or three years in the case of a sick child; or
• quarantine, etc.

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

Moreover, 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 prohibited to amend and/or terminate the individual employment contract of members of trade union organisations for reasons related to trade union membership and trade union activity.

Also, with respect to employee representatives, the law provides that it is prohibited to amend and/or terminate the individual employment contract on grounds related to the fulfilment of the mandate they received from the employees, during the exercise of their functions.

Employees may contest a dismissal decision in court, claiming that such dismissal is unlawful or ungrounded/unfounded. For example, a dismissal performed through the infringement of the legal procedure is null and void.

In the case of unlawful or unfounded dismissal, the court will annul the dismissal decision and order the employer to pay damages equal to the employee’s updated, increased salary, together with any other rights the employee would have benefited from if the dismissal had not occurred; upon the employee’s request, the employer must also 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 reinstatement court decision by the employer represents a criminal offence, sanctioned with imprisonment or a criminal fine.

Romanian law prohibits discrimination regarding all employment-related aspects on grounds of 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 within an employment relationship. For example, protection from unlawful discrimination between women and men applies in relation to:

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

Burden of Proof in Discrimination Claims

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

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

While the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for the implementation of digital solutions in the Romanian legal system, there has been little progress in this regard. During the alert state and for a certain period after its cessation, the courts could decide that certain court sessions would be carried out through telecommunication audio-visual means, allowing the identification of the parties. However, this possibility was limited to such period and is no longer available.

Starting in 2019 and based on a decision of the High Court of Justice, summons applications and other claims/requests can be sent via e-mail, provided that they are duly accompanied by an electronic signature.

Another example of digitalisation within the legal system that was implemented in most courts is the electronic file, which allows the parties in a court proceeding to view and download in an electronic format the documents uploaded in the court's file.

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

Trade union organisations defend their members' rights resulting from the labour legislation, CBAs and individual employment contracts before the courts, jurisdictional bodies, other state institutions or authorities, through own or elected defenders. As such, at the written request of their members, trade union organisations can represent the member employees in labour disputes, according to 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 will not be able to be introduced or continued by the trade union organisation if the member employee concerned opposes or renounces the judgment expressly.

Individual Employment Disputes

In individual employment disputes, the parties may act in court against each other or may try to settle the situation amicably, based on the principle of good faith. At the conclusion of the individual employment contract or during its execution, the parties may agree on a clause in the contract setting out that any individual employment dispute will be resolved amicably, through the conciliation procedure.

Conciliation implies the amicable settlement of disputes, with the involvement of an external consultant specialised in labour law under conditions of neutrality, impartiality and confidentiality, and with the free consent of the parties. The external consultant chosen by the parties may be a lawyer, an expert in labour law or, as the case may be, a mediator specialised in labour law.

If the parties reach a settlement, the external consultant prepares 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 said convention.

Collective Employment Disputes

Employees have a right guaranteed by law to trigger collective employment disputes in connection with:

• the start, evolution or end of the negotiation of the CBA;
• certain individual rights as provided under the CBA not being granted, in a collective manner (in the conditions in which litigation was started before the competent court and was not ended within a maximum of 45 days), depending on the total number of employees for whom the rights were not granted and the number of employees within the company; and
• if there is no CBA, the protection of collective interests relating to economic, professional or social issues (the employer or the employer’s organisation refuses to initiate the negotiation of a CBA while no such CBA is concluded or the previous CBA has expired, the employer or the employer’s organisation refuses to accept employees’ claims, etc).

In accordance with the legal provisions, in principle a collective dispute cannot be triggered while a CBA is effective and applicable between the parties, although certain exceptions may apply as provided under the law.

The settlement of a collective employment conflict implies certain steps, either mandatory (notification and conciliation) or non-mandatory (mediation and arbitration).

Broadly, the trade union/employee representative has to send a written notification to the employer/employers’ association of the 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 on the claimed aspects.

Following this notification, if the employer disagrees or fails to address all the claims as formulated by the trade union/employee representative, the collective dispute may be triggered and the trade union/employee representative will need to observe the conditions applicable to the making of a second notification to the employer and the registration of the collective dispute for the purpose of conciliation.

If the parties reach an agreement further to the conciliation, the collective work conflict will be considered closed. If 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 for the claims to be subjected to the arbitration of the Office for Mediation and Arbitration of Collective Work Conflicts attached to the Ministry responsible with social dialogue. Decisions disposed by the Office for Mediation and Arbitration are mandatory for all parties. They supplement 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 such prior to the strike initiation or during the strike.

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

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