Labour Law Newsletter No. 1/2012
News on the general registry of employees
Ministry Order no. 2822/2011 regarding the modification of the Annex to Order 1918/2011 for the approval of the procedure and documents the employers must submit to the territorial labour inspectorate for obtaining the password for the electronic transmission of the general registry of employees, as well as of the procedure for transmitting the general registry of employees in electronic format was published in the Official Gazette no. 920, dated December 23rd 2011.
The new regulation, supplements the content of the notification to be submitted to the territorial labour inspectorate by the employer who is using an authorized service provider for the filling-in and transmission of the general registry of employees.
Moreover, Order 2822/2011 clarifies the deadline within which the elements subject to registration within the general registry of employees must be transmitted to the local labour inspectorate.
Furthermore, the newly enacted provisions clarify the meaning and content of “salary” and “increments”, elements which are subject to registration within the general registry of employees.
News concerning the gross base minimum wage guaranteed to be paid at national level
Government Decision no. 1225/2011 regarding the gross minimum wage guaranteed to be paid at national level has been published within the Official Gazette no. 922, dated December 27th 2011.
Pursuant to G.D. 1225/2011, as of January 1st 2012, the gross base minimum wage salary guaranteed to be paid at national level shall be of RON 700 (approximately EUR 162).
Moreover, concluding individual employment contracts which provide an inferior level of salary than the one provided for by G.D. 1225/2011 constitutes an administrative offence and is subject to a fine between RON 1000 and RON 2000 (i.e. between EUR 231 and EUR 462)
News on the health and safety of the employees
Government Decision no. 1242/2011 for the modification of the Methodological Norms to Law no. 319/2006 regarding the health and safety of the employees has been published in the Official Gazette no. 925 dated December 27th 2011.
Amongst the most important modifications, the recently enacted legislation has eliminated the specific job positions relative to health and safety, respectively that of technician in health and safety matters and that of expert in health and safety matters along with the afferent study requirements for said positions.
News on the legislation concerning the apprenticeship at the work place
Government Decision no. 1212/2011 regarding the modification of the Methodological Norms to Law no. 279/2005 on the apprenticeship at the work place has been published within the Official Gazette no. 927 dated December 28th 2011.
Amongst the most important modifications brought to the apprenticeship legislation, the following are worth mentioning:
- the apprenticeship contract template has been modified based on the template of the individual employment contract (as such template has been approved by ministerial order)so as to include all the mandatory elements of the individual employment contract provided by the Law no. 53/2003 (the “Labour Code”).
- the duration of the apprenticeship contract has been set depending on the level of qualification of the respective apprentice.
- the newly enacted legislation, provides the conditions which must be fulfilled for occupying the position of apprenticeship coordinator (which is an employee designated by the employer) and details his attributions in relation thereto.
- the modality of evaluation of the apprentice at the end of the apprenticeship contract has been modified both from the point of view of the procedure and from the point of view of the competent entity to undertake the theoretical and practical evaluation of the apprentice.
- during the probationary period, the apprenticeship agreement may be terminated under the same conditions as those set forth by the Labour Code.
Legislative aspects related to special working places and the afferent authorizations
Government Decision no. 1280/2011 on the amendment of Government Decision no. 246/2007 regarding the methodology for renewing the authorizations for special working places has been published within the Official Gazette no. 932 dated December 29th 2011.
The newly enacted provisions provide the documents and procedure for renewing the mandatory legal authorizations for special working places, its validity being limited until December 31st 2012.
News on the social dialogue
Government Decision no. 1260/2011 approving the activity sectors has been published in the Official Gazette no. 933 dated December 29th 2011.
The newly enacted legislation provides for the 29 activity sectors for which collective labour agreements may be concluded, as per Law no. 62/2011 on the social dialogue.
News on the work authorizations
Government Decision no. 1261/2011 approving the number of authorisations to be issued to foreign workers in 2012 has been published in the Official Gazette no. 935 dated December 29th 2011.
The G.D. provides for the total number of authorisations which may be issued for foreign workers in order for them to perform work in Romania for the year 2012, more specifically 5500 authorizations.
News on the temporary work agent
Government Decision no. 1256/2011 regarding the condition for operation and the procedure for the authorization of the temporary work agent has been published in the Official Gazette no. 5 dated January 4th 2011. The newly promoted act shall enter into force in 30 days following its publication in the Official Gazette.
Amongst the most important modifications introduced by the recently enacted legislation we mention:
- the G.D. no. 1256/2011 has modified the competence of the public authorities concerning the issuance of the authorization necessary for an entity to perform activities specific to a temporary work agent.
- the G.D. no. 1256/2011 has introduced new administrative offences which may entail pecuniary fines or the withdrawal of the authorisation as temporary work agent. Thus, for example, placing at the disposal of the beneficiary a number of at most 5 temporary employees, outside a temporary work contract represents an administrative offence and is subject to a fine of ranging from RON 10000 to RON 20000 (approximately between EUR 2309.5 to EUR 4619) for every identified person.
- the newly enacted legislation has increased the level of pecuniary fines which may be taken against a company, in case of perpetration of certain administrative offences. For example, performing work as a temporary work agent without obtaining such authorisation constitutes an offence and may be subject to an administrative fine between RON 10000 and Ron 30000 (between approximately EUR 2309.5 and EUR 6928.5), unlike the previous legislation which provided for a level of fines ranging from RON 10000 to RON 20000 (approximately between EUR 2309.5 to EUR 4619).
