News

As of December 18th, 2021, the Labor Code has been
amended by Government Emergency Ordinance no.
130/2021 providing that an employee cannot receive
for more than 24 months the minimum gross basic
salary at country level.
Until December 31st
, 2021, the minimum gross basic
salary at country level is of RON 2,300, and it will
increase, starting with January 1st
, 2022, to RON
2,550.
Thus, the minimum gross basic salary at country
level can be applied for an employee for a maximum
period of 24 months as of the conclusion of the
employment agreement. After the above period, a
salary increase is mandatory, by concluding an
addendum to the employment agreement. Although
the law does not provide, we deem that in this case
the salary increase should not be derisory.

The new legal provisions apply also to the
employment agreements already in progress, not
only to the new ones.
Unfortunately, the legislative provision is not clear
whether the 24 months take also into account the
period of work with other employers. Although the
correct legal and logical interpretation would be to
consider only the employment agreement with the
current employer, given the general tendency of the
labor authorities to have a restrictive interpretation
of the legal provisions, the risk of an interpretation
that takes also into account the period of
employment with other employers should not be
excluded at this moment. We hope that the legislator

or the labor authorities will come soon with
clarifications on this topic.
A draft emergency ordinance proposes the
calculation of the above-mentioned 24-month period
starting from January 1st, 2022, regardless of
whether it is new or already in progress employment
contracts. However, this provision is not currently in
force.