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Payroll and Benefits Guide Romania

Last updated: May 16, 2023

Currency
Romanian Leu (RON)
Employer Taxes
Unknown
Payroll Frequency
Monthly
Employee Costs
35%
Capital
Bucharest
Date Format
dd/mm/yyyy
Fiscal Year
1 January - 31 December
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Contribution

Employer Employer Payroll Contributions
2.25%
Unemployment Insurance
4.00%
Social Security (pension) contribution
*Under special conditions
6.25%
Total Employment Cost
Employee Employee Payroll Contributions
25.00%
Pension
10.00%
Health Insurance
35.0%
Total Employee Cost
Employee Income Tax
0% 0-5000 RON monthly
10%
above 5,000 RON monthly

Employer taxes

Highest
Lowest

Employee taxes

Highest
Lowest

Minimum Wage

General

The minimum statutory gross wage is  3,300 RON

MINIMUM WAGE (PER MONTH)

Highest
Lowest

Payroll

Payroll Cycle

In Romania, the payroll frequency is monthly. Work between the first and last day of the month is typically paid on the last working day of the month.

13th Salary

There is no statutory requirement for a 13th salary payment in Romania

Authority Payments

Authority Payment

Paid To

Due Date

Method

Social insurance contribution (CAS)

Contributia pentru asigurari sociale (CAS)

25th of the following month

Treasury

Social health insurance (CASS)

Contributia pentru asigurari sociale de sanatate (CASS)

25th of the following month

Treasury

Unemployment Insurance (CAM)

Contributia asiguratorie pentru munca (CAM)

25th of the following month

Treasury

Revenue Tax

Impozit pe veniturile din salarii  sediu

25th of the following month

Treasury

National Solidarity Fund

Contributia la bugetul Fondului National de solidaritate

25th of the following month

Treasury

Wages Income tax

Impozit pe veniturile din salarii Punct de lucru

25th of the following month

Treasury

Working Hours

General

According to Romania law, the work week is limited to no more than five eight-hour days and a maximum of 48 hours per week. Part-time workers must work a minimum of ten hours per week, two hours per day. For employees under 18, work is limited to six hours a day or 30 hours a week.
Employers must keep a record of the daily work hours performed by each employee, highlighting the start and end hours of the working program, and shall present such records to the labor inspection control when required.

Overtime

Employees are allowed to work a maximum of 48 hours per week including overtime. After working a 12-hour day, employers must give a 24-hour rest period. Work performed outside the standard eight hours per day, 40 hours per week must be compensated with paid hours off during the 60 calendar days after the overtime has been performed. If the compensation with paid time off is not possible, the overtime shall be paid to the employee by adding a benefit that must not be lower than 75% of the basic wage, pro-rated to the overtime performed.
Workers under 18 years of age, part-time employees, and pregnant employees who are unable to work normal working hours for health reasons are not permitted to work overtime.

Leave

Annual Leave (vacation)

Employees are entitled to up to 20 days of paid annual leave by law per year pro-rated with the worked period. Employers are required to pay employees their allowance at least five working days before the leave starts.
If the employee cannot take all or part of the annual leave entitlement within the calendar year, the employer must carry over the outstanding annual leave to the first six months of the following calendar year, however, if the employee is still unable to take the leave entitled (e.g. due to long-term sickness), the employer must grant the unused leave with the employee’s consent within 18 months, starting with the year following the one when vacation has been accrued.

Public Holidays

Public holidays that fall on the weekend are usually lost.

Date Day Holiday Notes
1 Jan 2024 Monday New Year’s Day
2 Jan 2024 Tuesday New Year Holiday
6 Jan 2024 Saturday Epiphany
7 Jan 2024 Sunday Synaxis of St. John the Baptist
24 Jan 2024 Wednesday Union of the Romanian Principalities
1 May 2024 Wednesday Labor Day
3 May 2024 Friday Orthodox Good Friday
6 May 2024 Monday Orthodox Easter Monday
1 Jun 2024 Saturday Children’s Day
24 Jun 2024 Monday Orthodox Whit Monday
15 Aug 2024 Thursday Assumption Day
30 Nov 2024 Saturday Feast of Saint Andres
1 Dec 2024 Sunday Great Union Day
25 Dec 2024 Wednesday Christmas Day
26 Dec 2024 Thursday 2nd Day of Christmas

Sick Days

Under the labor code, employees covered by the pension and social insurance system who have made required contributions are entitled to sick leave of up to 180 days within one year with a possible 90-day extension.
The first five calendar days are provided by the employer for working days only. From the 6th calendar day, the FUNASS (Unique National Fund of Health Insurances) fund supports the payment of sick leave.
Sick pay is equivalent to 75% to 100% of the average monthly income during the previous six months, depending on the category of illness. The employee is required to provide a medical certificate from the doctor.

Maternity Leave

A pregnant employee is entitled to 126 days of paid maternity leave.
Maternity leave consists of two periods, prenatal leave, which is the period where a woman must take a minimum of 63 days before the expected due date, and postnatal leave, where the employee must take the remaining 63 days after the birth of the child.
The actual days across the two periods are stipulated by the employee’s physician and reported in the official medical certificate of maternity.
The maternity payment is paid by the FUNASS (Unique National Fund of Health Insurances) at a rate of 85% of the calculation based on the average of the employee’s monthly gross wages during the six months before the maternity leave started.
In addition, employees are entitled to take leave to protect their own and their child’s health and safety. The maternal risk-benefit is completely supported with funds from the Unique National Fund of Health Insurances. The amount of benefit is 75% of the average gross earnings over the last six months. Maternal risk leave is complementary to maternity leave. In these cases, the employee is required to write a request to the employer and provide a medical certificate from the doctor for the child’s sickness.

Paternity Leave

The father/partner, who effectively participates in a child’s care is entitled to 10 days of paid leave, irrespective if the child is born of marriage, out of wedlock, or adopted; this leave increases to 15 days if the employee participates in an infant care course. The possibility to benefit from paternity leave is during the first eight weeks after the birth of the child, based on the written request addressed to the employer. The employee is legally required to provide the birth certificate of the child.

The paternity leave allowance is paid from the employer’s salary fund and is included in the taxable income of the employee.

In the case of the death of the child’s mother during childbirth or during maternity leave, the child’s father is entitled to the following benefits, as the case may be:

a) an allowance equal to the maternity allowance due to the deceased mother if the father does not complete the insurance period to benefit from the right to medical leave.

b) a maternity-related allowance granted in accordance with the father’s income, for the case when he fulfills the insurance period to benefit from the right to medical leave.

This allowance is borne from the salary fund of the employer where the father works.

Parental Leave

After maternity leave, one of the parents is eligible for childcare leave of two month (parental leave) until the child reaches two years of age (three years of age in the case of disabled children), provided that the employee has contributed to tax during the past year of employment.
The employee is entitled to receive a monthly allowance from the appropriate Romanian authorities amounting to 85% of the average regular salary received in the last 12 months before childbirth. The employee is legally required to provide the written request from the employee, the birth certificate of the child, and a declaration that the other parent is not on maternity leave. Monthly allowance for children born from twin, triplets or multiples is supplemented by 50% starting with the second child.

Other Leave

Depending on the collective agreement/employment contract terms, an employee may be allowed additional leave types, which must be approved between the employer and employee.
Employees are entitled to up to three days of paid bereavement leave in the case of the death of a direct family member. In these cases, the employee is required to provide the death certificate and a request from the employer.

Employees are entitled to five days of paid wedding leave and two days of paid leave in case of the wedding of an employee’s child. In this case, the employee is required to request the employer to go on leave and after the wedding, provide the wedding certificate.

 

Vacation Days
Public Holidays
Highest
Lowest

PAID MATERNITY LEAVE (DAYS)

Highest
Lowest

Termination

Termination Process

The termination process varies according to how the employment agreement and collective agreement are in place and is based on the type of contract and reason for termination.
Individual employment contracts can be terminated by means of

  1. By law
  2. By mutual consent of the parties
  3. By either party of the employment contract within the terms and conditions provided by the law

Employers may terminate employment contracts by dismissal for reasons related to the employee e.g. poor performance (with a PIP in place), professional inadequacy as a disciplinary sanction) or for reasons not associated with the employee e.g. job cancellation.

It is common to terminate using a  Mutual Termination Agreement (MTA).

Notice Period

Notice period in the case of an employee dismissal is a minimum of 20 working days for all jobs regardless of the employment contract.
Employees may also terminate their employment agreement by resignation with prior notice of a maximum of 20 business days for non-management positions and 45 business days for management positions.

Severance Pay

There is no statutory severance pay in Romania unless conditions have been set in a collective agreement.

Probation Period

The probationary period in Romania is dependent on the type of role and is stipulated within the employment agreement. In general, probation periods are 90 calendar days increasing to 120 calendar days for an employee in a managerial/supervisory position.

Common Benefits

  • Meal vouchers- one per worked day for a maximum amount of RON 15.18 per voucher. The monthly number of meal vouchers granted cannot exceed the number of working days. The meal vouchers are subject only to income tax.
  •   Gifts – includes gift vouchers and holiday gifts. These are non-taxable if the value for each individual person does not exceed 150 RON.
  • Cultural vouchers – amounts that do not exceed 150 RON per month, or 300 RON if they are offered on occasion. These vouchers are subject only to income tax.
  • Holiday vouchers– can be granted by the employer only if in the previous year the fiscal results indicate profit at a maximum amount of six minimum gross wages guaranteed in payment. The holiday vouchers are subject only to income tax if granted according to the law.
  • Transportation to and from work- non-taxable benefit in kind (it is not subject to taxation in Romania).
  • Private Health granted by the employer- non-taxable benefit in kind in the limit of 400 EUR per year. The amount exceeding this cap is subject to income tax and social charges.
  • Private Pension granted by the employer- non-taxable benefit in kind in the limit of 400 EUR per year. The amount exceeding this cap is subject to income tax and social charges.
  • Developmental courses – also includes training offered by the employer related to the work performed by the employee. This is not a taxable benefit as per local law provisions.
  • Phone and Internet allowance – between 100 to 200 RON per month

VISA

VISA

EU citizens wishing to work in Romania should apply for a registration certificate from the Romanian Office for Immigration for a stay of more than 90 days. Non-EU citizens need to obtain a residency permit if the stay is longer than 90 days.
Foreign workers must obtain work authorization from the Romanian Office for Immigration via an application from the employer. Employers must prove that they are a legitimate business in Romania and that they have made every effort to recruit a Romanian national to fill the role.
They must also ensure that the proposed employee is suitably qualified, having had suitable education and training, for the role.
There are several types of work permits that may be applied for and subsequently completed and submitted to the General Inspectorate of Immigration by the employer:

  • Work permit for permanent workers: For foreign employees who have an indefinite or fixed-term employment contract.
  • Cross-border worker: A foreign employee who is from a country that borders Romania and has an indefinite or fixed-term employment contract.
  • Highly qualified worker: A foreign employee that has obtained a highly skilled job in Romania. The term of employment must be for at least one year.

Most work permits are valid for one year, however, permits for highly skilled workers are valid for two years.

VAT

General

VAT is 19% standard rate.

Stay up to date on payroll & employment law changes

Version History

November 27, 2022
Paid time off has been updated.
January 1, 2022
The minimum wage has increased to 2,550 RON gross per month.
October 5, 2021
Minimum salary level for non-graduate positions has increased to 2,300 RON gross per month from 2,230.
More

Questions & Answers

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Devin T.
Devin T.
3 years ago

What happens if our employee works the standard 40 hours + 8 hours in overtime a week?

Emily Kuhnert
Emily Kuhnert
3 years ago
Reply to  Devin T.

In Romania, a standard workweek is 40 hours, and an additional 8 can be worked in overtime. Above this, employers can be fined 3,000 RON when an employee works more than this. However, it is important to note that the employee is not entitled to overtime compensation when they chose to work overtime on their own, either the employer must request this or overtime must be carried out due to an emergency and work could not have been completed during normal working hours. In addition, the average work hours per week is taken over a period of 4 months, so this means that an employee could technically work more than 48 hours in one week.

Anju
Anju
3 years ago
Reply to  Devin T.

Deduction of Social insurance contribution – 25% from the expact(non EU national) will that refund to employee when contact period over or what happen with it?

Erez Greenberg
Erez Greenberg
3 years ago
Reply to  Anju

Hi, Anju. It depends on the country where the ex-pat is from. Usually, the contribution is recognized in the resident country where retirement/pension funds will come from and with which Romania has an agreement.

Alex Margolin
Editor
Alex Margolin
2 years ago

Hi David, thank you for your question. The purpose of this service is to provide answers to general questions in the world of employment. Specific questions about Papaya’s services should be addressed to this page https://www.papayaglobal.com/contact-us/

Nicholai
Nicholai
2 years ago

In what cases can an employer unilaterally change the terms of an employment agreement?

Emily Kuhnert
Emily Kuhnert
2 years ago
Reply to  Nicholai

Hi Nicholai, thank you for your question. In general, any changes to the employment agreement must be agreed upon by the employer and employee through an addendum to the original contract. There are only 2 things that an employer can change without the employee’s consent, which are relocation and secondment.

Tatevik Aghabekyan
Tatevik Aghabekyan
2 years ago

Is there any special taxation policy for IT companies

Emily Kuhnert
Emily Kuhnert
2 years ago

Hi Tatevik, taxation on companies is not in the scope of what we offer, I suggest that you speak with someone who specializes in that.

Olga
Olga
1 year ago

How much is the travel allowance? The maximum non-taxable amount

Erez Greenberg
Erez Greenberg
1 year ago
Reply to  Olga

Hi, in Romania, the minimum daily travel allowance is 20 RON, and the maximum non-taxable daily travel allowance is 50 RON.

Ashish
Ashish
1 year ago
Reply to  Erez Greenberg

what is the mileage reimbursement rate in Romania

Enny Shmurin
Admin
Enny Shmurin
11 months ago
Reply to  Ashish

The rate is determined by the number of kilometres travelled and the consumption of the vehicle type.

Nicola Wood
Nicola Wood
1 year ago

Is paid paternity leave paid by the employer or the state?

Erez Greenberg
Erez Greenberg
1 year ago
Reply to  Nicola Wood

Paternity leave is paid for the first five days by the employer. From the 6th day on, the state will pay them.

che
che
1 year ago

hello there,just wanna ask if a worker can request a copy of his payslip during salary day so that he can compute how much wage they gained during their work plus overtime.thank u

Erez Greenberg
Erez Greenberg
1 year ago
Reply to  che

Yes, they can.

Patrick
Patrick
1 year ago

Hello, What net expense allowances may I give an employee and how much are they?

Erez Greenberg
Erez Greenberg
1 year ago
Reply to  Patrick

There are different allowances or common benefits that employers may opt to provide. Usually, a taxable allowance is given.

Clara
Clara
1 year ago

How much would the transportation (commuting) allowance be?

Erez Greenberg
Erez Greenberg
1 year ago
Reply to  Clara

Hi, in Romania, the minimum daily travel allowance is 20 RON, and the maximum non-taxable daily travel allowance is 50 RON.

maria
maria
6 months ago

what it the average budget for Developmental courses and training gym subscription

Enny Shmurin
Admin
Enny Shmurin
6 months ago
Reply to  maria

There is not specific budget on developmental training courses, it really depends on the type of training that is required. For Gym membership, a common allowance would be around 45/50 Euros per month.

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Payroll and Benefits Guide
in Romania

What’s covered in this guide:

  • Employer/employee contributions
  • Minimum wage
  • Working hours
  • Visa requirements

And more...

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Public Holidays Calendar

Romania
Download:
CSV
PDF
ICS
Date Day Holiday Notes
1 Jan 2024 Monday New Year’s Day
2 Jan 2024 Tuesday New Year Holiday
6 Jan 2024 Saturday Epiphany
7 Jan 2024 Sunday Synaxis of St. John the Baptist
24 Jan 2024 Wednesday Union of the Romanian Principalities
1 May 2024 Wednesday Labor Day
3 May 2024 Friday Orthodox Good Friday
6 May 2024 Monday Orthodox Easter Monday
1 Jun 2024 Saturday Children’s Day
24 Jun 2024 Monday Orthodox Whit Monday
15 Aug 2024 Thursday Assumption Day
30 Nov 2024 Saturday Feast of Saint Andres
1 Dec 2024 Sunday Great Union Day
25 Dec 2024 Wednesday Christmas Day
26 Dec 2024 Thursday 2nd Day of Christmas