Law no. 58/2021 for the approval of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 211/2020 on the extension of the application of social protection measures adopted in the context of the spread of SARS-CoV-2, as well as for the amendment of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 132/2020 on support measures for employees and employers in that same context and for stimulating employment growth

In brief

On 5 April 2021, Law no. 58/2021, which approves Government Emergency Ordinance no. 211/2020 (GEO no. 211/2020) on the extension of the application of some social protection measures adopted in the context of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and amends Government Emergency Ordinance no. 132/2020 (GEO no. 132/2020) on support measures for employees and employers in that same context and to stimulate employment growth.

In detail

According to Law no. 58/2021, the main amendments regarding GEO no. 211/2020 and implicitly GEO no. 132/2020 are:

• In the event of a need to reduce temporarily the working time determined by the establishment of the state of emergency / alert, during this period, as well as for a period of up to three months as of the lifting of said state, employers can reduce the working time of employees by up to 80% of the daily, weekly or monthly duration provided in the individual employment contract;
• The measure to reduce working time is taken by the employer with the agreement of the trade union organisation or the employees' representatives, as the case may be;
• The reduced working time is set for at least five working days in the period of 30 calendar days as of the first day of the effective implementation of the measure;
• The employer's decision on the reduction of working time, the work schedule, the distribution by day and the related salary rights shall be communicated to the employee at least five days before the effective application of the measure;
• By exception, communication to the employee may be made at least 24 hours before the effective application of the measure, in the event of an increase in activity requiring additional staff, or in the event of the replacement of an employee who cannot perform the activity under the modified programme;
• During the period of reduced working time, the affected employees receive compensation of 75% of the gross monthly basic salary corresponding to the reduced hours. That may be supplemented by amounts representing the difference up to the level of the corresponding basic salary if the employer's budget for staff costs allows, without this difference being settled by the authorities;
• The 75% compensation is borne by the employer and will be reimbursed from the unemployment insurance budget no later than five days after the decision is issued by the competent employment agency;
• During the period of application of the measure, both the employment of staff or subcontracting for the performance of identical or similar activities to those carried out by employees whose working hours have been reduced are prohibited. Employment of new staff is allowed, however, to replace employees subject to termination of the individual employment contract under the conditions of art. 56, 61 and 81 of Law no. 53/2003, republished with subsequent amendments and completions;
• In order to settle the amounts requested, the employer must submit an application accompanied by the following documents:
  • Copy of the decision on the reduction of working time and proof of employees’ notification;
  • Statement of the employer's own responsibility, showing the decrease in turnover;
  • Copy of the agreement concluded with the trade union organisation or employees' representatives, or proof of informing the employees where there is no union / representatives;
  • The list of people to benefit from the reduced working time allowance.

Source: [Law no. 58/2021 for the approval of GEO no. 211/2020 and the amendment of GEO no. 132/2020, published in the Official Gazette no. 345 of 5 April 2021]

The takeaway

Employers can reduce the working time of employees by up to 80% of the daily, weekly or monthly duration.

The measure to reduce working time has to be taken by the employer with the consent of the trade union organisation or the employees' representatives, as the case may be, or, in their absence, with the notification of the employees.

In order to settle the amounts requested, the employer must submit a series of documents with a request for settlement to the competent employment agency.

Communication to the employees of the temporary reduction of working time may be made at least 24 hours before the effective application of the measure in the event of an increase in activity requiring additional staff, or when an employee who cannot perform the programme needs to be replaced.

The compensation of 75% of the gross monthly basic salary corresponding to the hours of reduction of the working hours may be supplemented by the employer with amounts representing the difference up to the level of the corresponding basic salary. This difference cannot be claimed back from the authorities.

New employees can be recruited to replace those whose working hours have been reduced during the period of application of the measure only if the individual employment contract is terminated in line with the applicable laws.