EU Member States had to implement Directive 2018/957/EU into their domestic legislation, regarding new requirements in terms of international postings.
In Romania, Law no. 172/2020 transposes this Directive into national legislation.
Law no. 172/2020 was published in the Romanian Official Gazette on 13th of August 2020 and its provisions are applicable as of 16th of August 2020, to all postings which were still in place as of 16th of August 2020, not only to those starting from that date onwards.
Applicable rules
Employers who post their workers to undertakings established in Romania are subject, during their posting, to the rules provided by the Romanian national law.
Workers posted to the Romanian territory in the framework of the transnational provision of services shall benefit, irrespective of the applicable law to the employment relationship, from the working conditions provided by the Romanian legislation and /or from the collective labor agreement concluded at sectoral level regarding:
maximum length of working time and minimum period of regular rest time;
minimum period of paid annual holidays;
the minimum wage applicable in Romania, for the posted worker to Romania is the one stipulated by the Romanian legislation and/or the collective labor agreement concluded at sectoral level, extended to the entire sector of activity, according to the legal provisions, including compensation or payment for overtime;
conditions of assignment of workers by temporary work agencies;
health and safety at work;
protective measures with regard to the conditions of employment applicable for pregnant women or those who have recently given birth, as well as for children and young people;
equality of treatment between men and women and other provisions on non-discrimination.
Remuneration of posted workers
Starting from 1st of January 2021, the minimum wage at national level has three (3) levels:
2,300 Ron/month – standard minimum wage;
2,350 Ron/month – minimum wage for positions which require university studies and work experience of at least 1 year;
3,000 Ron/month – minimum wage for the construction sector.
The minimum monthly wage applicable for all industries is amounting Ron 2,300/Ron 2,350 depending on education and experience, except for the construction industry where the applicable monthly minimum wage is amounting Ron 3,000.
Minimum wage rates are also established by the applicable collective agreements and cannot be lower than the national minimum gross wage established by the law.
Regarding the minimum wage set through collective agreements, Romania does not have a collective bargaining agreement with general applicability. There may be collective bargaining agreements in place at sectoral level valid only for the companies which apply them.
According to the Romanian labor code, wages are defined as basic wages, allowances, benefits as well as other additional payments. The base wages cannot be lower than the national minimum wage. Romanian minimum wage cannot include meal costs, transportation costs, housing costs, per-diems, assignments allowance, etc.
In Romania, the standard working hours are 8 hours/day and 40 hours/week.
Mandatory registration for posted workers
Undertakings established in an EU or EEA Member State other than Romania or in the Swiss Confederation which post employees to Romania are required to submit a notification on the transnational posting of workers, in Romanian language, to the territorial Labor Inspectorate under whose jurisdiction they are going to operate, within at least one working day before starting work, for any of the following cases: posting up to 12 months, extension of a posting, shortening of a posting, posting over 12 months.
Government Decision (HG) no. 654/2021 for amending and supplementing the Methodological Norms on the secondment of employees in the provision of transnational services in Romania, approved by Government Decision number 337/2017 was published in the Official Gazette number 611 of June 18, 2021 and is in force from the same date.
Government Decision no. 654/2021 introduced new provision regarding both the legal provisions and the notification framework model.
Government Decision no. 654/2021 provides certain details regarding the type of secondment:
the secondment of an employee on the Romanian territory, in the name of the enterprise and under its coordination, within a contract concluded between the seconding company and the beneficiary of the service providing its activity on the Romanian territory, if there is an employment relationship, between the employee and the company that makes the secondment;
the secondment of an employee to a unit or to an enterprise belonging to the group of enterprises, located on the territory of Romania, if there is an employment relationship, during the secondment, between the employee and the enterprise that makes the secondment;
the provision of an employee, by a temporary work agent, to a user enterprise established or which carries out its activity on the Romanian territory, if there is an employment relationship, during the secondment, between the employee and the temporary work agent.
According to the new provisions, the notification sent to the Territorial Labor Inspectorate must include the following elements:
the receiving institution (Territorial Labor Inspectorate);
the identity of the enterprise;
transnational measure corresponding to the secondment situation;
the data of the legal representative in our country;
the reasons invoked for the application of the postponement;
the identification data of the employee / employees for whom the postponement is requested;
the duration, respectively the start date and the end date of the period for which the postponement is requested;
address (es) of the workplace. The notification can be prepared and sent in letter format, by direct submission, or sent by e-mail, postal or courier services.
Business travelers
The Romanian work legislation does not provide a definition of business travelers.
Depending on the purpose of the travel and nature of the activities performed in Romania, these individuals may not be qualified as posted workers within the meaning of the Romanian legislation (e.g. employees present in Romania for training purposes, attending conferences, meetings, fairs, etc.) and mandatory registration procedures do not apply to them.
Labor Inspection – Liaison Office
In the case of a labor audit made by the authorities, the home/sending company has the obligation to make available the following documents:
documents evidencing the total remuneration granted to the posted worker, evidencing separately the posting allowance;
assignment related expenses and details of how these costs are reimbursed;
employment contract;
proof of payment of the monthly salary income;
A1 Form;
intercompany agreement;
additional documents requested by the authorities (as the case might be);
translation of documents into the official language/one of the Member State or in other language/languages accepted by the host Member State.
The home company is required to keep the documents in their archive for a period of 3 years, after posting ended.
The posting entity has to indicate a legal representative in Romania, to establish contact with the Romanian authorities. If the entity has no legal representative in Romania, one of the posted workers seconded to Romania should be designated as a contact person with the Romanian authorities.
Penalties and non-compliance
According to the law, the Romanian authorities may impose fines (i.e. Ron 5,000 – Ron 9,000) for the following:
Not submitting the informative form;
Not holding and making available to the labor inspectors, on their request, copies of the employment contract or equivalent documents, wages and proof of payment, length of their working time and attendance book/register;
Not presenting a translation into Romanian of the requested documents;
Not fulfilling the requirement to designate a person to liaise with the national authorities and to send and receive documents and/or notices, if necessary;
Not presenting the documents required by the authorities after the end of the secondment period, at the request of the Labor Inspectorate or of the local labor inspectorates, within 20 working days from receipt of the request.
In case the informative form is incomplete or has inaccurate information, the authorities may issue fines amounting between Ron 3,000 – 5,000.
Sources
Law no. 172/2020 regarding the posting of workers in the provision of transnational services to the territory of Romania published in the Romanian Official Gazette no. 736/13.08.2020
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