Labour mobility

The free movement of workers is one of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Treaty on European Union. A worker is ‘posted’ when they are employed in one Member State but are sent for a limited period by their employer to work in another Member State. In order to guarantee that posted workers’ rights and working conditions are protected across the European Union, EU law has established a core set of mandatory rules on employment conditions, which also apply to a worker posted to work in another Member State.

Posting to Romanian territory

The Posting of Workers Directive (Directive 96/71/EC) was transposed into Romanian law by Law No 344/2006 on the posting of employees in the framework of the transnational provision of services. The law applies to undertakings established in an EU/EEA Member State which post employees with whom they have established an employment relationship to Romania. It is a requirement for posting that the employment relationship between the employer and the posted worker during the period of posting is maintained.

Rights of citizens posted to Romania

Employees posted to Romania benefit from the employment conditions provided for in Romanian legislation and/or in collective bargaining agreements negotiated at national or industry level, such as maximum number of working hours and a minimum rest period, a minimum number of paid annual holidays, minimum wage, including overtime rates, and conditions for hiring out workers, including by temporary employment undertakings.

Working hours

For full-time employees, the normal number of working hours is 8 hours a day (over 5 days) and 40 hours a week. The maximum number of legal working hours may not exceed 48 hours per week, including overtime. If the daily working hours are 12 hours, they must be followed by a 24-hour rest period.

Overtime

Work performed outside the normal weekly working hours (8 hours a day and 40 hours a week) is considered overtime. Overtime may not be worked without the employee’s consent. At the employer’s request, employees may work overtime in compliance with the statutory maximum number of working hours. Overtime will be compensated with paid time in lieu during the 60 calendar days following the overtime worked, and the employee is paid the corresponding wage for any hours worked over normal working hours.

Rest leave

The right to paid annual leave is guaranteed to all employees. The minimum period of annual rest leave is 20 working days and is established in the employment contract.

Health and safety at work

The employer must make provisions for the health and safety of employees in all work-related aspects. If an employer relies on outside persons or services, this does not exempt it from accountability in this area. Employees’ obligations relating to health and safety at work are without prejudice to the employer’s responsibility.

Termination of contracts, redundancies and dismissals

The employment contract may end lawfully, with the parties’ consent and following either party’s unilateral voluntary act, in the cases and under the conditions restrictively provided for by law. A dismissal is the termination of an individual employment contract on the initiative of the employer. Employers may dismiss a person for reasons relating to the individual employee or for reasons that are not personal to that employee. Resignation is a unilateral voluntary action by an employee who, by means of a written notification, communicates to the employer that he or she is terminating the employment contract after the expiry of a period of notice.