New changes and additions to the Labour Code: Law no. 283/2022

The takeaway 

Law no. 283/2022 brought significant changes and additions to the Labour Code, including:

• Introduction of new rights for carers, specifically holiday leave, being absent from work in unforeseen situations caused by family emergencies and specific provisions regarding parental leave already regulated by Law no. 210/1999.
• New prohibition on dismissal of employees for exercising their rights provided for by law during the period of carer leave, paternity leave or absence from work due to family emergencies.
• The need to inform employees of any internal regulation provisions, including by electronic means.
• Informing job applicants and employees about other relevant aspects such as the right to and conditions for professional training offered by the employer. Those aspects have to be mentioned in employment contracts.
• Maintaining employees in the social health insurance system during periods of carer leave without paying the contributions and their rights to unemployment and temporary incapacity allowances.

In detail

According to Law no. 283/2022, the Labour Code applies to employees who perform legal work for an employer based in Romania.

Any adverse treatment of employees, including in response to a complaint to or notification of the competent bodies, not only to legal actions regarding the violation of legal rights or the principle of equal treatment and non-discrimination, is considered victimisation in labour relations, as previously provided for in the Labour Code.

In line with the equal treatment and non-discrimination requirements, any unfavourable treatment of employees and employee representatives in response to their requesting or exercising one of their rights is prohibited.

Another important change refers to additional information that must be provided to potential employees prior to recruitment, i.e. the completion of the individual employment contract, as follows:

• Any person selected for employment / the employee will also be informed of the following:
  • In the absence of a fixed workplace, how the employee’s travel between different workplaces will be organised and, if appropriate, costs reimbursed.
  • The constituent elements of salary income, highlighted separately, and the salary payment method.
  • The normal duration of work, expressed in hours per day and/or hours per week, the conditions for performing and compensating or paying overtime, and, if applicable, how shiftwork is organised.
  • The duration and conditions of the trial period, if applicable.
  • The right and conditions regarding professional training offered by the employer.
  • Details of any private medical insurance, additional contributions to optional or occupational pensions and the granting, at the employer’s initiative, of any other rights constituting advantages in money granted or paid to the employee as a result of the proposed professional activity.

If the employer does not inform the employee about all the elements provided by the Labour Code, the latter can notify the Labour Inspectorate. For employers with their own inspection bodies, the employee can also contact them. If the employer does not fulfil its information obligations provided for in art. 17, 18, 105 and 242 of the Labour Code, the person selected for employment / the employee has the right to refer the issue to the competent court and request compensation.

A further work trial period cannot be established if, within 12 months, a new individual employment contract is concluded between the same parties for the same position and with the same duties.

Employees have the right to work for different employers or for the same employer based on individual employment contracts, without overlapping work schedules, and to benefit from the salary for each role. Employers are not allowed to apply unfavourable treatment to an employee who exercises this right.

The new framework model of the individual employment contract will be adopted by order of the Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity and will be published on the institution’s website.

Employees cannot be dismissed in the following situations:

• Paternity leave (considered the period of activity provided for determining the duration of annual leave).
• Carer leave (with a duration of five working days in a calendar year or longer periods established by special laws or the collective labour agreement. This period does not count as annual leave or the extra days granted for years spent with the company).
• Absence from the workplace due to unforeseen situations related to a family emergency, illness or accident (for a maximum of ten working days in a calendar year. The employer and employee establish by common agreement the method for recovering the time lost during the period of absence).

Employees cannot be fired for exercising their rights provided by law.

Law no. 283/2022 clarified the meaning of working time by stating that the work schedule represents the employer’s way of organising the activity in terms of the hours and days when the work begins and ends.

For individual work schedule, an employer’s refusal to comply with an employee’s request for an individual work schedule must be provided in writing within five working days of receiving the request. If the request is accepted, the employee has the right to return to the original work schedule at the end of the agreed period or when circumstances change. 

The flexible approach to organising working time gives employees the opportunity to adapt their work schedule, including through the use of remote work, flexible work schedules, individual work schedules or work schedules with reduced working time.

Source: [Law no. 283/2022 for the changes and additions of Law no. 53/2003 - Labour Code, as well as Government Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2019 regarding the Administrative Code, published in the Official Gazette no. 1,013 dated 19 October 2022]