Romania is a country in Central Europe that is bordered by Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and the Black Sea. It’s the 12th largest country in Europe, with a workforce of 8.2 million (2023) and a GDP of 350 billion US dollars (2023).

The economy of Romania is a developing mixed economy, seeing high rates of economic growth in recent years. Romania is highly reliant on its service sector, with other industries such as tourism and IT employing a significant portion of the Romanian workforce. With a skilled labor force, employee benefits are important to people working in Romania, with a range of mandatory and supplementary benefits available.

This help guide will provide you with a thorough overview of Romanian labor laws and mandatory employee benefits companies must offer, as well as some information on supplementary benefits that should be considered. We’ll also provide information on how Remote People can help simplify hiring in Romania through our Employer of Record (EOR) and recruitment services.

Romanian Employment Laws

The Romanian Labor Code informs on the employment laws that must be adhered to by companies operating in Romania. 

The Labor Code was established in 2003 and has undergone many amendments over the years, with changes being made as recently as 2024.

The employment laws dictated by the Romanian Labor Code are designed to protect workers via employment agreements, offering high levels of protections including the right to a minimum wage, maternity leave, sick leave, and overtime compensation.

Employers must seek legal advice when employing in Romania to ensure that all mandatory labor laws are adhered to. 

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Romania

Romania abides by many mandatory employee benefits including the following:

Social Security Contributions

The Social Security System in Romania is designed to provide employees in Romania with certain benefits including:

  • Pensions
  • Healthcare
  • Sick Leave
  • Maternity Leave
  • Unemployment Benefit
  • Social Assistance Programs

Social Security rates are paid as follows:

Contribution Type
Category
Rate
Social Insurance
Employee
25%
Health Insurance
Employee
10%
Social Insurance
Employer
4% or 8% for special working conditions
Labour Insurance
Employer
2.25%

Annual Paid Leave

Employees in Romania are entitled to 20 days of paid annual leave (excluding public holidays).

Part-time employees are entitled to annual leave in proportion to the amount of work carried out.

Employees that meet the following conditions are entitled to an additional 3 days of holiday leave:

  • Employees working under difficult, dangerous, or harmful conditions
  • Employees who are disabled or blind
  • Employees below the age of 18

Working Hours

The normal working week in Romania is 40 hours per week, with 8 hours worked per working day. This is typically spread over 5 working days with 2 days off.

Employees are permitted to work an additional 8 hours per week which would count as overtime hours and must be paid accordingly.

Employees below the age of 18 can work a maximum of 30 hours per week or 6 hours per day.

If an employee works for 12 hours, this must be followed by 24 hours of rest.

Night work counts as any work carried out between 10pm and 6am. Night workers must be paid an additional 25% of their basic salary for time worked, or have their work schedule reduced by 1 hour for days when they complete at least 3 hours of night work.

National Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in Romania is RON 4,050 per month as of 1st January 2025.

This corresponds to a normal work schedule, and employers that do not pay minimum wage can be prosecuted.

Overtime Pay

Hours worked over 40 hours a week count as overtime. Overtime hours are usually compensated with paid time off within the next 60 calendar days, however, if this is not possible the employee must be paid at least 75% on top of their basic salary.

Public holidays in Romania usually result in paid time off for employees. The public holidays in Romania include:

  • New Year’s Day (January 1)
  • Day after New Year’s Day (January 2)
  • Epiphany (January 6)
  • Synaxis of St. John the Baptist (January 7)
  • Unification Day (January 24)
  • Orthodox Good Friday (April 18) (movable date)
  • Orthodox Easter Day (April 20) (movable date)
  • Orthodox Easter Monday (April 21) (movable date)
  • Labor Day / May Day (May 1)
  • Children’s Day (June 1)
  • Orthodox Pentecost (June 8) (movable date)
  • Orthodox Pentecost Monday (June 9) (movable date)
  • St. Mary’s Day (August 15)
  • St. Andrew’s Day (November 30)
  • National Day (December 1)
  • Christmas Day (December 25)
  • Second Day of Christmas (December 26)

Employees in Romania are entitled to sick pay in the event of absence from work due to illness.

The first 5 days of illness must be paid by employers at 75% of the employee’s average monthly wage, based on the last 6 months of work.

Sick pay past the first 5 days of absence is compensated by the State Healthcase System, provided that the employee has contributed to the social insurance system.

Maternity Leave

Female employees in Romania are entitled to paid maternity leave. This equates to 18 weeks (or 126 calendar days), with a maximum of 63 days usable prior to birth and 63 days usable after birth. The full 126 days may be taken after birth if desired.

Maternity leave is paid at 85% of an employee’s average monthly income. This is paid by employers who can claim this back from Social Health Insurance.

At least 6 weeks of maternity leave must be taken.  

Paternity Leave

Male employees are entitled to 5 days of paid paternity leave at 100% of their normal average earnings. 

Paternity leave can be extended by an additional 10 days if the father attends an infant-care course. Leave can be taken at any time in the 8 weeks after the birth of the child.

Parental Leave

Parents in Romania are entitled to parental leave. This  allows either parent to take up to 2 years of paid parental leave until the child turns 2 years old. This can be extended to 3 years if the child has a disability.

Parental leave is paid at 85% of the employees average earnings over the last 12 months. This payment is not taxed and is paid by Romanian local authorities. 

Pensions

The Romanian pension scheme is a system with pension points, and is based on the following four pillars:

  • Public Pension Scheme: A pay-as-you-go system including contributions to social security (10.5% of gross salary).
  • Private Pension Scheme: System compulsory for employees up to 35 years old and optional thereafter. 6% of 10.5% social security contributions for pension is automatically directed towards individual private pension account.
  • Optional Savings Pension Scheme: Voluntary scheme managed by private pension companies.
  • Supplementary Private Pension Scheme: Optional pension scheme to supplement previous 3 pillars.

Pensions are also divided into the old-age pension, early retirement pension, partial early retirement pension, disability pension, and survivor’s pension.

Severance Pay

There is no mandatory obligation for employers to provide employees with severance pay in the event of termination without reason.

If severance pay is offered as a supplementary benefit, this is usually agreed via negotiations between employers and employees, or via collective bargaining agreements. There are no legal minimums or maximums for severance pay in Romania.

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Romania

Employers are advised to consider offering supplementary employee benefits to workers in Romania. Supplementary benefits have been shown to attract potential employees, while also improving staff retention rates.

Examples of supplementary employee benefits include:

  • Performance bonuses
  • Enhanced healthcare insurances
  • Private pension scheme
  • Severance pay package
  • Enhanced holiday leave
  • Expenses for transport, food, or housing

Optimize Employee Benefits with Remote People

Adhering to Romanian employee benefit requirements is easier with Remote People’s Employer of Record (EOR) services in Romania. Our EOR solution manages payroll, employment compliance, and statutory benefits—so you can stay focused on running your business while we handle the administrative complexity.

Contact Remote People today to simplify employment benefits in Romania. We can also assist with hiring employees in Romania via our Romania recruitment services, allowing you to access talented employees in a range of industries. 

Our team are highly experienced in the Romanian recruitment market and can make hiring experienced candidates a much simpler process.