Working life country profile for Romania
This profile describes the key characteristics of working life in Romania. It aims to provide the relevant background information on the structures, institutions and relevant regulations regarding working life.
This includes indicators, data and regulatory systems on the following aspects: actors and institutions, collective and individual employment relations, health and well-being, pay, working time, skills and training, and equality and non-discrimination at work. The profiles are systematically updated every two years.
‘Individual employment relations’ refers to the relationship between the individual worker and their employer. This relationship is shaped by legal regulation and by the outcomes of social partner negotiations over terms and conditions. This section looks at the start and termination of the employment relationship and entitlements and obligations in Romania.
Requirements regarding an employment contract
The minimum age for entering into an employment relationship is 16 years. Special requirements regarding working time are stipulated for workers younger than 18 years (16–18 years old), namely a maximum of 30 hours of work per week, or 6 hours per day. An individual working contract must be signed between the employee and employer. The employee is required to pass a medical examination prior to starting work. The process is finalised when the contract is uploaded to Revisal (a database in which employees are registered).
In order to test the employee’s skills, a trial period of a maximum of 90 days for executive positions and 120 days for management positions is stipulated by law. For people with disabilities, the trial period is a maximum of 30 days.
Dismissal and termination procedures
According to the Labour Code adopted in 2011, an employee can be dismissed either for objective reasons (if the company is being restructured or if their position has been terminated, in which case the employer cannot reinstate the position after dismissing the employee and hire someone else in the same position for six months) or for subjective reasons (such as non-compliance with the disciplinary rules (on behaviour in the workplace), breach of the working contract’s clauses or professional unfitness). If disciplinary measures are repeatedly taken, the employer is obliged to conduct a disciplinary investigation prior to the dismissal. If the employee has to be dismissed because of professional unfitness, a preliminary evaluation of the employee must be carried out in order to verify whether or not the employee is capable of meeting the requirements of the job description.
The territorial labour inspectorates verify the conformity of procedures upon the termination of an individual work contract. To be valid, the employer must provide the employee with a written termination notice. An employee can contest the employer’s decision before a court of law.
Parental, maternity and paternity leave
Statutory leave arrangements
| Maternity leave | |
| Maximum duration | 63 days prenatal and 63 days postnatal. In addition, the mother/father can opt for two years’ childcare leave (or three years’ leave for children with disabilities) |
| Reimbursement | 85% of the beneficiary’s average income over the previous 12 months |
| Who pays? | National Fund of Social and Health Insurance (Fondul naţional unic de asigurări sociale de sănătate) |
| Legal basis | Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG) No. 158/2005, OUG No. 111/2010, Law No. 66/2016 |
| Parental leave | |
| Maximum duration | The legislation grants the second parent the right to one month’s parental leave. The second parent can request one month of leave, or compensation and leave are suspended for the second parent for this month and the first parent can choose to take unpaid leave or go back to work |
| Reimbursement | 85% of the beneficiary’s average income over the previous 24 months, but no less than 85% of the gross national minimum wage and no more than RON 8,500 (around €1,710) |
| Who pays? | National Fund of Social and Health Insurance |
| Legal basis | OUG No. 158/2005, OUG No. 111/2010, OUG No. 55/2017, Law No. 66/2016 |
| Paternity leave | |
| Maximum duration | There are no mandatory periods of leave for fathers; they are subject to the same legislation as mothers if they want to take parental leave. In addition, they can take 10 days of paid paternity leave, which can be supplemented with 5 more days if the father has taken child-rearing classes |
| Reimbursement | 100% of the beneficiary’s average income over the previous 12 months |
| Who pays? | The company that employs the father |
| Legal basis | OUG No. 117/2022, Law No. 210/1999 |
Sick leave
The law provides for the right to pay during sick leave for both employees and self-employed people. This applies to the entire period of leave, from the first day. A medical certificate is required. The beneficiary of the paid medical leave must be insured and must pay social contributions. The minimum contribution period for paid sick leave is 1 month within the 12 months prior to the period for which the medical leave is taken. For some diseases, such as HIV or tuberculosis, and emergencies, the right to medical leave is not conditional on social contributions. The maximum period of paid leave is 183 days per year, but for some diseases, such as cancer and HIV, this period can be prolonged. The employee’s compensation during sick leave is 75% of their last 12 months’ gross revenue. For some diseases, the amount increases to 100%.
The employee is obliged to present a medical certificate and documents that attest to the number of days spent on sick leave. Since 2014, sick leave has been counted as a period of activity by the pension system.
Retirement age
Since January 2011, the public system has been regulated by Law No. 263/2010 on the unified pension system, which replaced the former law on the public pension system (Law No. 19/2000). The standard retirement age has been gradually increasing and had risen to 65 years for men and 60 years for women by January 2015. Women’s retirement age will be increased to 63 years by January 2030. Early retirement is allowed under specific legal conditions. Until 31 December 2014, the minimum contributory period was 14.4 years. The period was extended for both men and women to 15 years in January 2015. The standard contributory period entitling the beneficiary to a full pension is 35 years for both men and women, but it will come into force later for women (January 2030) than for men (January 2015).
