Employment Flash News No. 3/2014
News on the activity of daily workers
Law no. 18/2014 for the amendment of Law no. 52/2011 on activities performed by daily workers has been published within the Official Gazette no. 192 dated March 19, 2014 and will enter into force starting June 18, 2014.
The new legal provisions restrict the area of beneficiaries of works. Thus, daily workers cannot be used anymore by natural persons, nor by public authorities, except for communal services directly managed by local councils, such as greenhouses, green spaces and zoos.
The new provisions introduce a definition of occasional work, as activities performed by chance, sporadically or accidentally and which are not permanent.
After these recent amendments, the law also expressly provides that, in order to perform daily work, it is not mandatory to conclude a written individual employment agreement.
Moreover, according to the new legal provisions, the daily worker’s remuneration cannot be lower than the hourly value of the minimum gross base salary at national level. The payment of the daily worker’s remuneration can be made not only at the end of each working day, but also at the end of the week or at the end of the period when the activity is performed, only with the written consent of the parties.
The new legal provisions also set forth the beneficiary’s and daily worker’s obligations regarding the health and safety at work. Therefore, as an example, the beneficiary must ensure the daily workers’ health and safety at work, the daily worker’s training as regards the exposure to danger and the prevention and protection measures to be observed, before commencing the activity, ensure protective equipment, immediately communicate any event related to daily workers to the Territorial Labor Inspectorate and record health and safety accidents in relation to the employees performing work, etc. Moreover, as an example, the daily worker must acknowledge and observe the prevention and protection measures provided by the beneficiary, properly use the work equipment provided by the beneficiary, etc.
Moreover, unlike the previous legal provisions setting forth that, minor daily workers aged between 15 and 16 can perform daily work only if such is related to activities suited to their physical development, skills and knowledge and if, by performing daily work, their personal development and health are not damaged, the new legal provisions set forth that such conditions are applicable for minor daily workers aged between 15 and 18.
In the matter of administrative offences, there are several amendments:
- New obligations are provided, that, when breached, trigger administrative fines, such as:
- If hourly gross remuneration established by the parties is less than the amount of the minimum gross base salary at national level or if the remuneration is not awarded as provided by law, such conduct shall be sanctioned with a fine of RON 10.000 (approx. EUR 2.250)
- Furthermore, as regards the breach of certain beneficiary’s health and safety obligations (e.g., failure to ensure protective equipment, as provided by law, failure to immediately communicate any event related to daily workers to the Territorial Labor Inspectorate and failure to record health and safety accidents in relation to the employees performing work), such shall be sanctioned with a fine of RON 6.000 (approx. EUR 1.350)
- Moreover, the beneficiary using daily workers for activities other than those expressly provided by the law shall be sanctioned with a fine ranging from RON 10.000 to 20.000 (approx. EUR 2.250 to 4.500)
- New fines are provided for certain administrative offences, such as:
- Failure to comply with the obligations regarding the daily worker’s duration of work or with the legal provisions regarding the minor daily workers or regarding the prohibition to use daily workers for activities performed in the interest of a third party shall be sanctioned with a fine of RON 6.000 (approx. EUR 1.350)
