Employment Flash No. 9/2021 – Latest news in the labor law field – electronic signature used in employment relations and the updated template for employment contracts
22.07.2021 – The Law no. 208/21.07.2021 for approval of GEO no. 36/2021 on the use of advanced electronic signatures or qualified electronic signatures, accompanied by the electronic time stamp or qualified electronic time stamp and qualified electronic seal of the employer in the field of labor relations, and for amending and supplementing some normative acts was published within the Official Gazette no. 720 dated July 22nd, 2021.
Generally, the new regime stipulates that the parties of the employment contract may opt to use the advanced electronic signature or the qualified electronic signature to conclude, amend, suspend or terminate the contract.
Particularly, the employer may use the electronic signature, advanced electronic signature or qualified electronic signature or the electronic seal to prepare the specific documentation in work relations resulting at the conclusion, execution or termination of the employment contract, under the conditions established by the internal regulations and/or the collective agreement.
The procedures for the use of these forms of signature will be part of the informing of the future employees and will be reflected in the content of the employment contract.
To perform any of the above operations, the parties must use the same type of signature, handwritten or electronic.
According to the amendments brought by the law at hand, the control authorities have the obligation to accept, for verification and control, any document concluded in electronic format, without requesting them in written format; at the request of the authorities, the documents may be transmitted in electronic format and prior to the control.
The employer may bear, for himself and his employees, the expenses for the purchase of advanced electronic signatures or qualified electronic signatures; these expenses are deductible.
In summary, the main elements that have changed are:
- the possibility of using the advanced electronic signature or the qualified electronic signature for the modification suspension or termination of the individual employment contract;
- elimination of the requirement that the electronic signature be accompanied by the electronic time stamp or the electronic time stamp qualified and the qualified electronic steal of the employer.
Note: This law also amended Law 319/2006 on health and safety at the workplace. As such, the specific training in the field of health and safety at the workplace may also be performed online, and the proof of performing the training, in case it is prepared electronically, must be signed with electronic signature, advanced electronic signature or qualified electronic signature.
The Order of the Labor and Social Security Minister no. 585/02.07.2021 on amending and supplementing the framework template for the individual employment contract, provided in the annex to the Order no. 64/2003 was published within the Official Gazette no. 712 dated July 19th, 2021.
With regard to the provision of the duties within the job description, the changes to the framework template for the individual employment contract reflect an exception recently provided for by the legislative framework, namely:
- micro-enterprises with up to 9 employees will be allowed to complete a short characterization / description of the activity.
The order also expressly provides the employer’s obligation to inform the employee of the latter’s obligation to join a privately administered pension fund; this obligation applies for the categories provided by law.
The Romanian version of this newsletter is available here.
