Typical weekly working hours (40) are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with an unpaid one-hour lunch break. The employer (1) must pay the employee overtime for any extra hours worked, (2) must receive the employee’s consent to work overtime, and (3) can’t have part-time workers and minor (under the age of 18) employees work overtime.
The total number of standard working hours can’t exceed 48 hours per week unless within a four-month reference period the total number of working hours doesn’t exceed the limit of 48 hours per week.
The Romanian Labour Code doesn’t allow (1) to opt out of the established maximum of working hours and (2) to state that remuneration for overtime is already included in the salary.
The employer must compensate overtime with (1) paid time off within the next 90 days or (2) an additional payment that can’t be less than 75% of the base salary for the time worked.
If the employee performs overtime work during public holidays, the employer must (1) compensate the employee with paid time off within the next 30 days or (2) make an additional payment of at least 100% of the base salary.
Most employees prefer overtime payment instead of paid time off, although the law lists paid time off as the primary form of compensation.
Employees must get a lunch break if they have to work for more than six hours. Minor employees must get at least a 30-minute break if they have to work for more than four and a half hours.
Employees must get (1) at least a 12-hour break between consecutives working days and (2) a weekly 48-hour break — usually on weekends. If the employer can’t grant the weekly weekend break, the employer can grant other rest days but must pay the employee extra for working on weekends.
Work performed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. is night work. Employees working (1) at least three hours of their shift or (2) at least 30% of their monthly working hours within this time frame are night workers.
When performing at least three hours of night work, employees can benefit from (1) having a shift that is one hour shorter or (2) receiving an additional payment of at least 25% of the base salary for the hours worked during the night.
Minor employees can’t perform night work.
Companies must keep track of every employee’s worked hours, including overtime, night work, and work emergencies. These records must contain the exact start and end time of each shift.
Companies found guilty of not tracking or not keeping records of employees’ worked hours can face the fine of up to RON 10,000. Companies found guilty of not observing overtime rules can face the fine of RON 3,000 per each overtime-working employee.
