Romania is a country in central Europe bordered by Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, and Moldova. It is considered a developing country with a high-income economy based predominantly on services. Romania enjoys rich natural beauty of mountains, rivers, and Black Sea coastline.

Types of Contracts

In Romania, companies can offer temporary employment contracts that last for a short time. These contracts can't last more than 24 months at first. If needed, the job can be made longer one time, but the total time the job lasts, including the extension, can't be more than 36 months.

Working Hours

The standard working week in Romania is 40 hours, or 8 hours per day. The maximum working time for a week cannot surpass 48 hours per week, including overtime.

Work performed beyond the standard 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week must be compensated, and compensation can be in the form of paid hours off during the 60 calendar days following the overtime.

If paid time off is not feasible, overtime must be compensated with a benefit not less than 75% of the basic wage, pro-rated to the overtime performed.

After working a 12-hour day, employers must provide a mandatory 24-hour rest period to employees.

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in Romania is RON 3,300 per month in 2024.

Probation Period

The duration of the trial period varies based on the length of the temporary employment contract:

• For contracts up to 1 month: Maximum of 2 working days.
• For contracts between 1 month and 3 months: Maximum of 5 working days.
• For contracts between 3 and 6 months: Maximum of 15 working days.
• For contracts longer than 6 months: Maximum of 20 working days.
• For employees in management positions with contracts longer than 6 months: Maximum of 30 working days.

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Taxes & Local Employment Costs

Employer Taxes & Contributions

Unemployment Insurance

Employers are required to contribute 2.25% of the gross salary towards unemployment insurance.

Social Security

If applicable, employers must contribute 4% of the gross salary towards social security for employees in harmful working conditions. Otherwise, employers must contribute 8% of the gross salary towards social security for special working conditions and other working conditions.

Annual Leave

Employees in Romania are entitled to a minimum of 20 working days of annual leave per year. In addition to the contractually agreed paid leave, employees have the right to take unpaid personal leave when necessary. Employers are obligated to pay employees their salary at least 5 working days before the leave commences.

If an employee cannot take all or part of their annual leave entitlement within the calendar year, the employer must carry over the outstanding leave to the first six months of the following calendar year. If the employee is still unable to take the accrued leave (e.g., due to long-term sickness), the employer must grant the unused leave with the employee’s consent within 18 months, starting from the year following the one when vacation was accrued.

Sick Leave

Employees covered by the social insurance system in Romania are entitled to up to 183 days of sick leave per calendar year. The first 5 days of sick leave are paid for by the employer, and subsequent days are covered by social insurance.

To qualify for sick leave, the employee must be domiciled in Romania, must have been enrolled in the social health insurance system for at least 6 months in the last year, and the activity must have been carried out based on an individual employment contract.

Maternity Leave

Pregnant employees are entitled to 126 days of paid maternity leave, usually split evenly as 63 days before the birth and 63 days after. This leave is paid by the government at a rate of 85% of the net income in the last 6 months. Fathers are entitled to 10-15 days of paid leave after the birth.

After maternity leave, one of the parents can also be eligible for childcare leave (parental leave) until the child is 2 years old, as long as the employee has contributed to social security for 12 worked months in the last 24 calendar months.

"Maternal risk leave" is complementary to maternity leave, as employees are entitled to take leave to protect their own and their child’s health and safety. The Maternal risk-benefit is fully covered by funds from the Unique National Fund of Health Insurances. The benefit amount is 75% of the average gross earnings over the last six months.

Paternity Leave

The father/partner who actively participates in a child’s care is entitled to 10 days of paid leave. This entitlement applies regardless of whether the child is born within marriage, out of wedlock, or adopted. The leave duration increases to 15 days if the employee participates in an infant care course.

Paternity leave can be taken during the first 8 weeks after the child's birth, upon written request to the employer. The employee must provide the birth certificate of the child to qualify for paternity leave. The paternity leave allowance is paid from the employer’s salary fund, and is included in the taxable income of the employee.

Child Care Leave

After maternity leave, one of the parents can be eligible for childcare leave (parental leave) until the child reaches 2 years old. Eligibility requires the employee to have contributed to social security during 12 worked months in the last 24 calendar months.

During childcare leave, the employer suspends the employee’s contract and ceases payment. Instead, the employee receives an indemnity payment from the local social services.

By law, the father is required to take at least one month of parental leave while the mother returns to work. Both parents cannot take leave simultaneously, as only one parent at a time can receive the state indemnity.

Public Holidays

There are 15 public holidays in Romania:

• New Year’s Day - January 1
• Day After New Year's Day - January 2
• Unification Day - January 24
• Orthodox Good Friday - Friday before Orthodox Easter Sunday
• Orthodox Easter - Moveable Date
• Orthodox Easter Monday - Monday after Orthodox Easter Sunday
• Labor Day - May 1
• International Children's Day - June 1
• Orthodox Pentecost - 50 days after Orthodox Easter
• Orthodox Pentecost Monday - Monday after Pentecost
• St. Mary's Day - August 15
• Feast of St. Andrew - November 30
• National Day of Romania - December 1
• Christmas Day - December 25
• Second Day of Christmas - December 26

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Benefits

The mandatory benefits in Romania include:

• public health and pension insurance
• labor safety training (quarterly) and work equipment where applicable - paid by employer
• medical tests (yearly) - paid by employer
• weekend allowance
• night shift bonus
• personal salary deduction for incomes of a maximum of 5000 RON /month
• payment of overtime or compensation with days off

Notice Period

Resignation Period

The notice period is agreed by the parties in the contract and can't be more than 20 working days for regular employees and not more than 45 working days for managers.

Dismissal Period

When someone is dismissed from their role, they are required a notice period of at least 20 working days. The minimum notice period for terminating an employee’s contract during probation in Romania is dependent on the length of service:

• Up to 1 month = 2 working days
• 1-3 months = 2 working days
• 3-6 months = 15 working days
• 6+ months = 30 working days,45 working days for employees in management positions

Statutory Payments

There is no statutory severance pay in Romania unless conditions have been set in a collective agreement. The final pay includes unused vacation days.

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