Government Decision no. 654/2021 for amending and completing the Methodological Norms regarding the secondment of employees for the provision of transnational services on the Romanian territory, as approved by Government Decision no. 337/2017

In detail

Government Decision no. 654/2021 (GD no. 654) introduces amendments and completions to the Methodological Norms regarding the secondment of employees for the provision of transnational services on the Romanian territory as follows:

• At the request of the authorities of the other Member States and in order to identify abuses and non-compliance with the rules on transnational postings, the Labour Inspectorate may request that territorial labour inspectorates carry out checks and inspection actions on the transnational posting situations provided in art. 5 para. (2) of Law 16/2017, in order to obtain information on payrolls and proof of payment of salary rights, attendance sheets and individual employment contracts, with the aim of identifying transnational cases of undeclared work and fictitious self-employment in the secondment of employees.

• The deadlines by which companies established on the territory of a Member State or of the Swiss Confederation which deploy employees with whom they have established employment relations on the territory of Romania have to send to the competent territorial labour inspectorate a declaration on the transnational posting of employees, i.e. the declaration attesting to the changes in the elements set out in the initial declaration, as follows:

• The declaration regarding the transnational posting of employees (Annex 1 to GD no. 654/2021) has to be sent before starting the activity. The previous regulation on this matter provided a declaration deadline of at least one working day before starting the activity;

• A statement regarding any changes to the elements set out in the above declaration has to be submitted no later than the day on which the change occurs. The previous regulation required that declaration to be submitted within five working days as of the date of the change.

• The format of Annex 1 to GD no. 654/2021 has been amended by introducing additional elements such as the type of transnational measure corresponding to the secondment situation.

• The effective duration of the secondment may be extended from 12 to 18 months if a Reasoning Notice on the secondment extension (Annex 2 to GD no. 654/2021) is sent to the competent territorial labour inspectorate.

• The Reasoning Notice has to be sent no later than the day before the expiry of the 12-month period and include, among other aspects:

  • the identity of the recipient institution (territorial labour inspectorate);

  • the identity of the seconding institution;

  • the transnational measure corresponding to the secondment situation;

  • the reasons invoked for the extension;

  • the identification data of the employee for whom the extension is requested;

  • the secondment duration, i.e. the start and end date;

  • place of work address(es).

• The notification and any changes to its elements may be sent by direct submission, in letter format, in electronic format or through the online platform provided by the authorities.

• In the case of the provision of an employee, by a temporary work agent, to a user institution established or operating on the territory of Romania, that employee is considered to be posted on the territory of a Member State other than Romania by the work agent temporary with which an employment relationship exists. The user institution operating in Romania has to inform the temporary work agent at least 30 days before starting the activity on the national territory and notify the territorial labor inspectorate by, at the latest, the day before the employee's secondment.

Source: [GD no. 654/2021 for the modification and completion of the Methodological Norms regarding the secondment of employees within the provision of transnational services on the Romanian territory, as approved by Government Decision no. 337/2017, published in the Official Gazette no. 611 dated 18 June 2021]

The takeaway 

• The Labour Inspectorate may require territorial labour inspectorates to carry out checks and inspection actions on situations of transnational postings, including cases of undeclared work and fictitious self-employment related to the posting of employees.

• The declaration regarding the transnational posting of employees (Annex 1 to GD no. 654/2021) has to be sent before the start of the activity. Any change to the elements provided in Annex 1 has to be declared, at the latest, on the day of the change.

• Secondment periods can be extended from 12 to 18 months if the employer sends a Reasoning Notice (Annex 2 to GD no. 654/2021) to the competent authorities.

• An employee made available to a user is deemed to be seconded to the territory of a Member State other than Romania by the temporary with whom an employment relationship exists.