Employ
RecruitHow to Hire Employees in Romania
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Hiring in Romania is becoming more popular with employers looking to expand abroad. Romance offers many benefits, such as a well-educated workforce, competitive labor costs, and opportunities to expand into other European markets, making it no surprise that it’s becoming more popular as a destination for employment.
This help guide will walk you through the 9 key steps to hiring in Romania, from compliance information to ensuring mandatory employee benefit entitlements are met.
Why Expand Your Business to Romania
Strategic Advantages of the Romanian Market
There are many strategic advantages to the Romanian market. One of the most beneficial advantages is their membership in the European Union, which provides them access to the single market and trade opportunities with neighbouring countries such as Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Romania is built on modern infrastructure and offers skilled workers at competitive labor costs in comparison to countries in Western Europe.
Importance of Being Aware of Romanian Labor Laws
Employers must be aware of the Romanian Labor Code (Law 53/2003) when hiring in Romania to ensure strict compliance.
This labor code informs on key aspects of employment law such as working hours, leave entitlement, employee rights, and employer responsibilities.
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Step 1: Define Your Hiring Needs
Identifying your hiring needs is an important first step when employing workers in Romania.
This involves determining what sort of roles you need for your business, and how many people you’re looking to employ.
Think about how these roles impact your long-term business objectives, for example, whether you want to build a local team or are looking for more temporary staffing measures.
Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with Compliance Requirements
Understanding your responsibilities as an employer in terms of compliance will prepare you for what employees will expect and keep any compliance mistakes to a minimum.
Mandatory employee benefits, minimum wage entitlements, and social security contributions are just a few elements that you should educate your company on to ensure your business is compliant at every stage of the hiring process.
Step 3: Choose Your Hiring Method
There are various hiring methods in Romania, depending on your company’s hiring requirements.
Establishing a Legal Entity
Setting up a legal entity in Romania is a good choice for large companies looking for long-term expansion into Romania.
This involves forming a limited liability company, a joint stock company, or a sole proprietorship, and reserving your company name. You’ll also need to prepare incorporation documents and open a company bank account before registering with the Trade Register in Romania.
There are significant financial and administrative responsibilities involved with establishing a legal entity, which makes it a hiring method more commonly used by larger companies.
Using an Employer of Record (EOR)
An Employer of Record provider can be helpful for companies looking for a quick and cost-effective way to employ abroad.
With an EOR acting as the legal employer, this allows companies to outsource the hiring process, including tasks such as HR, payroll, benefit compliance, and tax filings.
Hiring Independent Contractors
Using independent contractors within your business is another hiring method that is desirable for companies looking to hire flexibly.
However, employers must ensure workers are correctly classified as independent workers to avoid penalties and legal issues with misclassification.
Step 4: Develop a Recruitment Strategy
The next step involves putting together a clear recruitment plan.
This involves drafting your job adverts, including relevant job titles and descriptions, to attract the right candidates for your business.
Make sure you post your job adverts in places that are visible to the best candidates. Here are some popular job sites in Romania that you can use as your recruitment channels like eJobs, Bestjobs and Hipo.ro.
Step 5: Conduct Interviews and Assessments
When you’ve collected some job applications and narrowed down a shortlist, you can conduct your interviews.
A top tip when interviewing applicants is to consider social norms and cultural factors. Romanian people tend to highly value education and family, so bearing these in mind when speaking with potential staff members can create a good first impression and motivate them to join your company.
Step 6: Know the Legal Limitations of Background Checks
Using background checks in the employment process is normal practice in Romania. However, it’s important to always obtain explicit candidate consent before submitting checks and adhering to data protection laws.
You should only request data relevant to the role when carrying out background checks – for example, criminal record data must only be requested for highly sensitive roles.
Step 7: Draft Employment Contracts
Drafting your employment contracts is arguably the most important step in this process. Getting this right the first time around can save you issues in the future, so consulting a legal expert is advisable when drafting these contracts for the first time.
A few factors that should be included in writing within a contract include:
- Job title and responsibilities
- Salary/payment terms
- Working hours
- Probationary and notice periods
- Termination rules
Before your new employees start, you should make sure your workers are set up with the National Agency for Fiscal Administration, which is the revenue service of Romania.
You’ll also need to obtain relevant social security IDs from the Social Security System of Romania, and enrol your staff members in any relevant health insurance schemes you’re a part of.
Step 9: Onboard Your New Employees
The last step in the process is to onboard your new employees. Warmly welcome them to your team to set a great first impression, and make sure they have access to all relevant training/resources they’ll need.
You should also introduce them to their teammates at this stage and explain any important company policies they should know.
Key Employment Laws and Regulations
The Romanian Labor Code
The Romanian Labor Code is the legal framework that governs employment relationships in Romania.
Companies must familiarize themselves with this code and consult with legal professionals if there’s anything they’re unsure of.
Social Security Regulations
Romania operates under a Social Security System to provide employees and employers with financial protection in circumstances of retirement, illness, and unemployment.
Social security contributions as of 2025 in Romania are as follows:
Employee Contributions
| Contribution Type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Social Insurance | 25% |
| Health Insurance | 10% |
Employer Contributions
| Contribution Type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Social Insurance | 4% (8% for special working conditions) |
| Labour Insurance | 2.25% |
Employment Standards and Employee Rights
Unions and Works Council
Trade unions and work councils are permitted in Romania to help improve employee representation and guide communications between workers and higher management positions.
These are particularly prevalent in companies with over 20 employees.
Types of Employment Contracts
There are various types of employment contracts in Romania, with the most popular being:
Fixed-Term Contracts
Typically used for certain projects with a set end date
Indefinite Contracts
No set end-date, generally used for permanent positions
All employment contracts must be formalized in writing and signed by both parties. Companies should also consider writing contracts in Romanian if that’s the employee’s first language, and have contracts reviewed by a legal professional to ensure compliance with local labor laws.
Working Hours and Overtime
Standard Working Hours
The typical working week in Romania consists of 40 hours per week, or 8 hours per day.
Employees below 18 years of age can work a maximum of 30 hours per week or 6 hours per day.
Any hours worked between 10 pm and 6 am count as night work and should be paid at an additional rate of 25% of an employee’s basic salary.
Overtime Regulations
Overtime hours are any hours worked over an employee’s contracted hours.
These hours should be paid at an additional rate of 75% of an employee’s wage. However, employees are usually compensated with an additional day off within 60 days of performing overtime.
Leave Entitlements
Workers in Romania are entitled to various leave entitlements, including the following:
Annual Leave
Annual leave in Romania consists of 20 days of paid leave per year, with part-time employees being eligible for annual leave on a pro rata basis.
Additional leave may be provided to employees below the age of 18, those who work under dangerous conditions, or those who suffer from a disability.
Sick Leave
Employees who are absent from work due to illness can take sick leave, which provides a maximum of 183 days of paid sick leave.
Between 75% – 100% of pay can be provided during sick leave, depending on the nature of the employee’s illness.
Maternity and Paternity Leave
Female employees can take maternity leave when they have a baby, which consists of 18 weeks of leave paid at 85% of the employee’s average income.
This is usually split into 63 days of leave before birth and 63 days after birth.
Male employees can take 5 days of fully paid paternity leave if they have a child, which may be extended by an extra 10 days if the employee takes an infant-care course.
Termination and Severance
Notice Periods
Employees must give 20 days’ notice if they choose to leave their job, or 45 days if an employee is in a managerial role.
Employers must also give 20 days’ notice if they wish to terminate an employee’s contract.
Severance Pay
There is no mandatory requirement for employers to pay severance to employees in Romania.
However, some employers do choose to offer severance pay as a supplementary benefit, in which case this is usually calculated by length of service.
Mandatory Contributions
Social Security Contributions
Employees and employers are responsible for mandatory contributions towards the social security system as per the following:
Employee Contributions
| Contribution Type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Social Insurance | 25% |
| Health Insurance | 10% |
Employer Contributions
| Contribution Type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Social Insurance | 4% (8% for special working conditions) |
| Labour Insurance | 2.25% |
Health Insurance and Pension
The healthcare system in Romania is split between public and private providers. The public sector is managed by the Ministry of Health and is funded by social health insurance and the state.
The private health system is growing and is often used by people looking for a quicker route with newer facilities.
The public pension system is split into 5 pillars, including:
- Old-age pension
- Early retirement
- Partial early retirement
- Disability pension
- Survivors pension
These are funded by the social security system. There are also private pension systems in place for workers looking to raise extra funds for retirement.
Optional Benefits
Supplementary benefits are advised in Romania to help employers give more value to their employees, helping to increase retention rates and improve the number of job applications.
Some examples of additional perks employers could offer their workers include:
- Performance bonuses
- Additional training
- Flexible working
- Company car
- Private pension
- Enhanced leave entitlement
- Travel, housing, or food allowances
How to Hire Employees in Romania — Our Take
There are many ways that Remote People can help companies navigate hiring employees in Romania.
Our Employer of Record (EOR) services allow companies to hire and manage employees in Romania without establishing a local entity. As the legal employer, Remote People handles payroll, benefits compliance, and tax obligations, ensuring full adherence to Romanian labor laws.
We can also help you find the best talent for your business in Romania with our recruitment services. Our team is highly experienced in the Romanian recruitment space, being fluent in the local language and knowing the most effective places to advertise job roles.
Contact Remote People today to start expanding your business into Romania, without the difficulties that usually come with hiring abroad.
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