Employment in Romania at a glance
Capital
Bucharest
Language
Romanian
Remote workers
-
Currency
Romanian Leu (RON)
Working hours
40 hours per week
Public holidays
15 days of national holidays per year, with at least 2 on Sundays
Minimum monthly salary
RON 4,050 gross
Tax year
Jan 1 - Dec 31
Date format
DD/MM/YYYY
Misclassification penalties
Retroactive health insurance and social security contributions, including a duty of payment of overhead surcharges, related interests, and sanctions.
Fun fact
Romania is home to the world's heaviest building: the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest. It contains 1.5 billion pounds of steel and bronze, and is the second-largest administrative building in the world, after the Pentagon.
Taxes in Romania
Employer contributions
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Employer tax: 2.5%
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Work insurance contribution: 2.25%
Employee contributions
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Employee tax: 45%
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Social insurance: 25%
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Health insurance: 10%
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Income tax: 10% flat
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Use our calculator to understand what are all the employment costs you have to consider in Romania.
Employer of Record in Romania
What is an EOR?
Usually, an Employer of Record is the legal employer in a country where the company isn’t registered as an employer. However, in Romania, the employment model requires a temp agency license. The temp agency handles all Bulgarian compliance aspects of employment, including local laws, payroll, taxes, statutory benefits, employment contracts and more.
EOR responsibilities
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Ensuring their employment is compliant with local employment laws
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Processing local payroll
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Filing employment related taxes and returns
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Issuing payslips to the employee
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Distributing salary payments
How it works
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Company
Maintains a direct relationship with the employee, allocates them work tasks, and manages their performance.
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Boundless
Takes care of payroll, taxes, benefits, ensuring the employee and the company are compliant with all legal regulations.
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Employee
Signs an employment contract with Boundless and fulfils all of their obligations as a worker for the company.
Benefits in Romania
Statutory benefits in Romania
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Medical examination
Many employees are subject to preliminary medical examination, which take place when they are first hired and then in a certain cadence depending on age
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Unemployment indemnity
Certain categories of Romanian employees are eligible for unemployment indemnity paid out by the Local Occupation Authority.
Common non-mandatory benefits in Romania
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Working from home allowance
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Supplementary health insurance
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Stock options
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Meal tickets
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Private pension
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Private health insurance
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Gift tickets
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Cultural tickets
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Travel allowance
Rights & protections in Romania
Employment agreement
Protection of personal information
Union membership
Safe place of work
Whistleblower protection
Reasonable accommodation
Equal treatment
Protection from discrimination
Redundancy payment
Pay transparency
Leave in Romania
Paid time off
20 days + public holidays
Sick leave
unlimited
Maternity leave
126 days
Paternity leave
10-15 days
Parental leave
number of days/weeks not determined. Can be taken up to the child turning 2
Employment conditions in Romania
Probation
When working under indefinite-term agreement, the maximum probationary period that can be set for employees is 120 days for managerial positions, 90 days for all other jobs and 30 days for employees with disabilities.
Non-compete
The non-compete clause applies for a maximum of two years, beginning on the termination date. Not complying with this clause can lead to court action or payment of damages. However, the contract can’t contain any specific penalty amount, and the employer has to prove financial loss while seeking damages via legal action.
Payments in Romania
Payment frequency
Most employers pay monthly. Some pay biweekly but still calculate the amount for the whole month and consider the first two weeks’ pay as an advance on the monthly salary.
Payday
Usually, employers pay salaries the following month, with the payday date ranging between the current month’s last working day and the 15th of the following month.
End of employment in Romania
The employer can terminate an employment agreement due to various circumstances, however a valid and justified reason for dismissal is required. Valid circumstances include de jure termination, during the probation period, by mutual agreement, in the case of a gross misconduct.
Certain employees are protected from dismissal during given periods, which include illness leave, pregnancy, parental leave and performance of military exercise. In addition employees cannot be terminated for any reasons that may be deemed discriminatory such as their race, sex, language, political or union views, or religion.
Employees have the right to challenge termination decisions in court. Proceedings usually take around one year, depending on complexity. If the employee wins, the court declares the termination invalid. Then, the employer reinstates the employee, covering the employee’s court expenses and paying the employee’s salary and other salary rights for the period between termination and reinstatement. On rare occasions, the employee can also receive additional compensation for moral damages.
FAQs
Hiring in Romania can be done in four ways. You can run payroll from your HQ for short-term cases, engage contractors for project-based work, set up a local entity to hire directly, or partner with a temp agency licence holder. EOR isn’t a recognised model in Romania; Boundless holds the required temp agency licence to employ staff compliantly without setting up a local entity.
Contractors work well when the relationship is project-based and the person serves multiple clients. If an individual gives their full and undivided attention to your company in Romania, employment is the right structure under Romanian law, covering entitlements like paid annual leave, sick leave, and social security contributions. For project-based contractor engagements, Boundless’s Agent of Record (AOR) service handles classification, contracts, and payments compliantly in Romania.
HR compliance in Romania means your policies and procedures respect all applicable Romanian employment laws and regulations. When you hire in Romania, this matters both to safeguard employee rights and to reduce employer risk. Compliance covers labour law, sick leave, annual leave (20 days), minimum wage (RON 4,050/month), tax credits, and a 40-hour working week. Following these is fundamental for running the business well.
EOR isn’t a recognised model in Romania, a temp agency licence is required, and Boundless holds one. We are the legal employer of the individual for Romanian government, tax, and employment authorities, providing a locally compliant contract, running payroll, filing employment taxes, and administering statutory benefits such as 126 days of maternity leave and 20 days of annual leave. You manage day-to-day work and fund payroll each cycle.
Boundless partners with employment lawyers and advisers in each country we operate in, including Romania. They ensure employment contracts and onboarding documents comply with the local jurisdiction. We hold detailed discussions on specific norms such as payroll, social protection, data protection, notice periods, and work-from-home regulations. When a sensitive issue arises, our internal team engages the relevant firm promptly.
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