Employee dismissal in Romania is lawful only when the employer relies on a ground recognised by the Labour Code and follows the procedure attached to that specific ground. A genuine business reason is not enough if the required notice, investigation, evaluation, consultation or written decision is defective.

This guide is intended for Romanian companies, foreign investors, HR teams and managers considering an individual or collective dismissal. It reflects the structure of the Romanian Labour Code and highlights the points that most often create litigation risk. For advice on a particular case, see our Romanian employment law services.

Is every employment termination a dismissal?

No. Under Article 58 of the Romanian Labour Code, dismissal is the termination of an individual employment contract at the employer’s initiative. It may be based on reasons related to the employee or on reasons unrelated to the employee.

Dismissal should not be confused with termination by mutual agreement, resignation, expiry of a fixed-term contract, termination by operation of law or written termination during or at the end of a probationary period under Article 31(3). Termination during the probationary period is a distinct mechanism, separate from dismissal. Each route has different conditions. Relabelling a unilateral dismissal as a “mutual termination” does not make it consensual; genuine agreement must exist.

Legal grounds for employee dismissal in Romania

The main grounds are divided between reasons related to the employee and reasons unrelated to the employee. The required evidence and procedure differ substantially.

When is dismissal prohibited?

Before any employee dismissal in Romania, the employer should check both Articles 59 and 60 of the Labour Code. Article 59 prohibits dismissal on protected grounds, including protected characteristics, trade-union membership or activity, lawful participation in a strike and the exercise of specified employment rights. Article 60 creates temporary prohibitions during specified periods, including certified temporary incapacity for work, quarantine, maternity leave, parental leave, leave to care for a sick child, annual leave, paternity leave, caregiver leave and certain emergency family absences. A pregnant employee is protected if the employer knew of the pregnancy before issuing the decision. Separate anti-discrimination and retaliation rules may also apply under Law no. 202/2002 and the Whistleblower Protection Law no. 361/2022.

The protected-period analysis should be made immediately before the dismissal decision is issued and communicated. Article 60 also contains an exception linked to judicial reorganisation, bankruptcy and dissolution of the employer, but it should be applied only after checking the employer’s precise legal status and the special insolvency rules.

Does every dismissed employee receive 20 working days’ notice?

No. Article 75 grants a minimum notice period of 20 working days for dismissal due to medical unfitness, professional inadequacy and redundancy under Articles 65 and 66. It does not create a universal notice period for every type of dismissal. In particular, disciplinary dismissal does not carry the same statutory notice entitlement.

The notice period and its start date should be documented clearly. Employers should not assume that paying an equivalent amount automatically remedies a failure to observe the statutory notice period. If the parties want a negotiated exit with compensation, that should be structured separately as a genuine mutual termination agreement.

How does disciplinary dismissal work?

Employee dismissal in Romania based on misconduct is the most procedure-sensitive route. Before imposing it, the employer must ordinarily conduct the prior disciplinary investigation regulated by Article 251. The process should include a written summons specifying the subject, date, time and place of the meeting, a real opportunity for the employee to present explanations and evidence, and a documented assessment of the defence.

The sanction must also be proportionate. Article 250 requires the employer to consider factors such as the circumstances of the misconduct, degree of fault, consequences, the employee’s general conduct and any previous disciplinary sanctions. A finding that misconduct occurred does not automatically justify dismissal if a lesser sanction is proportionate.

The disciplinary decision must be issued in writing within 30 calendar days from the date the employer became aware of the misconduct, but no later than six months from the date of the act. It must contain all mandatory elements under Article 252 and be communicated within five calendar days of issue. Read our dedicated guide to the disciplinary procedure in Romania.

Evidence that usually matters

• the internal regulation, policies and lawful instructions allegedly breached;
• proof that the employee received or could access those rules;
• emails, access logs, reports, witness statements or other lawfully obtained evidence;
• the summons, interview record, employee’s written defence and supporting documents;
• a reasoned proportionality assessment; and
• proof of issuing and communicating the final decision within the statutory periods.

How should professional inadequacy be documented?

Professional inadequacy concerns the employee’s ability to meet the professional requirements of the role; it is not a disciplinary accusation. Article 61(d) provides the legal ground for dismissal, while Article 63(2) requires the employee to undergo a prior evaluation under the procedure established by the applicable collective labour agreement or, in its absence, the internal regulation.

The evaluation should rely on objective, role-related standards communicated in advance. The job description, performance objectives, prior reviews, training records and concrete work results should tell a consistent story. A hastily created evaluation standard or a process designed around one predetermined outcome is vulnerable to challenge.

Before dismissal, Article 64 requires the employer to offer available positions compatible with the employee’s professional training or, where relevant, work capacity. If no suitable vacancy exists, the employer must seek the support of the territorial employment agency. The employee has three working days to express written consent to an offered position.

What is required for medical-unfitness dismissal?

Medical unfitness under Article 61(c) cannot rest on a manager’s impression or an ordinary performance assessment. It must be established through a decision of the competent medical bodies. The employer must then follow the compatible-vacancy process under Article 64 and grant the minimum statutory notice.

This ground should also be kept distinct from disability discrimination and reasonable workplace accommodation issues. Medical information must be handled with particular attention to confidentiality and data-protection requirements.

When is redundancy lawful?

Employee dismissal in Romania for redundancy is governed principally by Article 65. It is lawful when the employee’s position is effectively eliminated and the elimination has a real and serious cause unrelated to that employee. The employer does not have to prove that dismissal was the only imaginable business choice, but it should be able to show that the reorganisation is genuine and that the eliminated role no longer exists in substance.

A defensible file commonly includes the competent corporate decision, the business rationale, organisational charts before and after implementation, the updated headcount and job descriptions, financial or operational supporting material where relevant, and evidence that the employee’s duties were genuinely removed or redistributed.

A changed job title alone is not decisive. Courts can examine whether a supposedly eliminated position continues in substance or is promptly refilled under a different label.

Where only some identical or comparable positions are removed, the selection issue requires particular care. In Decision no. 30/2020, the High Court declined to rule on the merits and dismissed the recurs în interesul legii as inadmissible. It held that the question concerned applying the law to specific facts rather than resolving a genuine issue of legal interpretation. The decision therefore did not unify the divergent lower-court approaches described in the referral on whether selection criteria are required when an employer eliminates only some positions from a group of identical or similar positions. As a risk-management measure, any criteria used should be objective, consistently applied and supported by evidence.

Employers planning a broader reorganisation may also consult our guide to employee rights during company restructuring in Romania.

When do collective-dismissal rules apply?

A redundancy programme can become a collective dismissal if, within a period of 30 calendar days, the statutory thresholds in Article 68 are reached.

For threshold calculations, certain other employer-initiated terminations for reasons unrelated to the employee may also be counted when the statutory conditions are met. Fragmenting one programme into several documents or dates does not necessarily prevent the collective rules from applying.

The employer must begin consultations with the trade union or employee representatives in good time, provide the written information required by Article 69 and genuinely examine ways to avoid or reduce dismissals and mitigate their consequences. If the programme proceeds, the territorial labour inspectorate and territorial employment agency must receive the statutory notification at least 30 calendar days before dismissal decisions are issued, subject to the detailed Labour Code procedure.

What must the written dismissal decision contain?

The applicable deadline and the mandatory content should be analysed separately. Article 62 establishes the deadline for issuing decisions based on Article 61(b)–(d) and also requires the decision to state its factual and legal reasons, the challenge period and the competent court. Article 76 sets out the other mandatory elements applicable to dismissal decisions, while Article 252 contains the specific requirements for disciplinary decisions. Depending on the case, the written decision should include:

• the factual and legal reasons for dismissal;
• the duration of the notice period, where applicable;
• the collective-dismissal selection criteria, where applicable;
• the list of available positions and the Article 64 response period, where applicable;
• for a disciplinary sanction, the mandatory elements in Article 252, including why the employee’s defence was rejected; and
• the statutory challenge period and competent court, where required.

The decision produces effects from communication to the employee. Communication should therefore be provable. The employer cannot ordinarily defend the case by introducing new dismissal reasons that were absent from the decision.

What are the main employer risks if the dismissal is unlawful?

A failure to comply with the legally required procedure results in absolute nullity under Article 78. Under Article 80, if the court cancels the dismissal, it orders compensation equal to the indexed, increased and updated salaries and the other entitlements the employee would have received. At the employee’s request, the court also restores the parties to the position existing before dismissal by ordering reinstatement.

Employment disputes move quickly and the employer bears the burden of proof under Article 272. A disciplinary decision may be challenged within 30 calendar days of communication under Article 252(5). For most other dismissal-related employment disputes, employees generally have 45 calendar days to challenge the measure under Article 268, calculated from the date on which the person concerned became aware of it, subject to the specific provisions applicable to the type of claim.

Additional exposure may arise from discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, unpaid rights, data-protection violations, collective consultation failures or inconsistent treatment of comparable employees.

A practical pre-dismissal checklist for employers

1. Identify the legal route. Confirm whether the case is dismissal, mutual agreement, resignation, expiry, probationary termination or another statutory form.
2. Check protected status. Verify leave, medical incapacity, pregnancy notifications, representative status, whistleblowing and discrimination risks.
3. Confirm decision-making authority. Make sure the correct corporate or managerial body approves the measure.
4. Audit governing documents. Review the employment contract, job description, internal regulation, policies and collective agreement.
5. Build the evidence file. Preserve documents lawfully and avoid post-hoc rationales.
6. Run the ground-specific procedure. Investigation, professional evaluation, medical decision, vacancy search or reorganisation documentation cannot be interchanged.
7. Check collective thresholds. Look at the complete 30-day programme, not only one employee or one department.
8. Calculate notice correctly. Apply it only where legally required, but do not shorten it.
9. Draft and quality-check the decision. Confirm every mandatory element, factual statement, date and attachment.
10. Plan communication and litigation readiness. Retain proof of delivery and a complete, chronological file.

If employment status itself is uncertain, first review our analysis of employee versus contractor risks in Romania. For prevention at the hiring stage, see our guidance on employment contracts in Romania.

Frequently asked questions

Disclaimer: This article provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. The correct procedure depends on the dismissal ground, employment documents, employee status and facts of the case.

AI Notice: AI-assisted content, reviewed and approved by a qualified Romanian lawyer.

Employment contracts in Romania must be concluded in writing and in Romanian, signed using wet-ink or a legally valid electronic signature, contain the mandatory information required by the Labour Code and be recorded in REGES-ONLINE before the employee starts work. A compliant template is only the starting point: the contract must also match the actual role, schedule, workplace, pay structure and working arrangement.

This guide is written for foreign companies, founders, HR teams and managers hiring personnel in Romania. It explains what the contract should contain, which clauses require special care and how contract execution connects with the employer’s registration and personnel-file obligations.

Must an employment contract be in writing in Romania?

Yes. Article 16 of the Romanian Labour Code requires the individual employment contract to be concluded in writing and in Romanian. Written form is mandatory under the Labour Code and must be completed before work begins. The employer bears responsibility for concluding the document.

The contract must be signed using wet ink or a legally valid electronic signature, provided to the employee and entered in REGES-ONLINE before work begins. Where electronic signing is used, the parties must use the same type of signature for the document. Registration alone does not replace the signed contract, and a signed contract does not excuse late registration. Foreign-language versions may be used for convenience, but the Romanian version should control or the documents should state clearly how inconsistencies are resolved.

What mandatory clauses must Romanian employment contracts contain?

The contract must cover the information required by Article 17 of the Labour Code and the applicable framework employment-contract model. The employer should not merely copy headings. Each field must describe the real employment arrangement.

What must be completed before the employee starts work?

The employer should treat hiring as a controlled sequence. Before the first working day, it must verify identity and work entitlement, obtain the medical fitness certificate, complete the required information process, sign the contract, provide the employee’s copy and transmit the required data to REGES-ONLINE.

A non-EU national may require a work authorisation and immigration steps before employment can lawfully begin. The employment document should align with the approved position, salary and working conditions. See our guide to recruiting non-EU personnel in Romania.

How does REGES-ONLINE connect with the employment contract?

REGES-ONLINE is the statutory employee register governed by Government Decision no. 295/2025. From 2026, employers should use the online register for new hires and subsequent reportable events. The register reflects the legal documents; it does not create or amend the parties’ agreement by itself.

The table states the main operational rules. For salary changes, Article 5(4) of Government Decision no. 295/2025 provides a 20-working-day deadline; a change resulting from a court judgment is subject to the specific 10-working-day rule calculated from the employer’s knowledge of the judgment. Particular suspensions, transfers and corrections also have specific rules. Employers should verify the current REGES-ONLINE guidance for the event concerned.

How should probation, confidentiality and non-compete clauses be drafted?

Optional clauses are enforceable only within the Labour Code. They should solve a real business need and should not attempt to remove statutory employee rights.

A post-employment non-compete obligation requires payment of a monthly non-compete indemnity. The contract must identify the activities prohibited, relevant third parties, geographic area and period. It cannot impose an absolute ban on the employee’s profession. Confidentiality and intellectual-property provisions should also distinguish employee-created works, employer resources, trade secrets and lawful whistleblowing or regulatory disclosures.

What additional clauses are required for telework and part-time work?

Telework and part-time arrangements require more than changing the workplace or number of hours in a standard form.

Under Law no. 81/2018, telework must be expressly agreed. The contract or addendum should address the periods spent at employer premises, how activity may be checked, the method for recording daily start and end working hours in line with Article 119 of the Labour Code, health and safety responsibilities, equipment, data protection, measures against isolation and the treatment of telework expenses.

A part-time contract must state the duration and distribution of hours, the conditions under which the schedule may be changed and the restriction on overtime, subject to narrow statutory emergencies. Omitting mandatory part-time elements may expose the employer to the risk of reclassification and labour-inspector sanctions.

Can the employer change the contract unilaterally?

As a rule, no. Core terms such as role, workplace, salary, working time and contract duration are modified by agreement, normally through a written addendum concluded before the change takes effect. The Labour Code provides narrow exceptions. In addition to delegation and secondment, Article 48 permits the employer temporarily to modify the workplace and type of work without consent in cases of force majeure, as a disciplinary sanction or as a measure to protect the employee, only in the cases and under the conditions provided by law.

Telework under Law no. 81/2018 remains, as a rule, consensual. An employer should not rely on Article 48 as a general power to impose remote work. Any exceptional unilateral remote-work measure must have a specific legal basis applicable at that time.

A policy cannot silently rewrite a contractual benefit or core term. Before changing a package, the employer should classify each item as statutory, contractual, collectively agreed, policy-based or genuinely discretionary. The correct document and employee-consent requirement follow from that classification.

Employer checklist for Romanian employment contracts

1. Identify the real employer. Confirm the Romanian employing entity and authorised signatory.
2. Classify the role. Select the correct COR occupation and align it with the job description.
3. Choose the lawful contract type. Document any fixed-term or part-time basis and special clauses.
4. Verify the employee. Check identity, qualifications, medical fitness and work authorisation.
5. Define the workplace. Distinguish office work, mobility, homeworking and telework.
6. State working time precisely. Include distribution, unequal schedules, shifts or part-time restrictions where relevant.
7. Map compensation. Separate base salary, allowances, bonuses, benefits and reimbursement of expenses.
8. Review optional protections. Tailor confidentiality, IP, non-compete, mobility and training clauses.
9. Sign and deliver the contract. Complete this before the employee starts work, using wet-ink signatures or the same legally valid electronic-signature type for both parties.
10. Transmit REGES data. Preserve proof and reconcile the register with payroll and personnel-file documents.

Frequently asked questions

Disclaimer: This article provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. Contract requirements depend on the role, working arrangement, applicable collective rules and the employee’s status.

AI Notice: AI-assisted content, reviewed and approved by a qualified Romanian lawyer.