Romania will remain under the state of alert for at least 30 more days starting 16 August

The state of alert was extended by the Government for an additional 30 days starting August 16^th under similar conditions as it was previously declared. The same restrictions regarding operating specific businesses will continue to apply.

Closed doors activities, including restaurants, bars, cafes, playgrounds and indoor pools will not reopen at least until mid-September. General and sectorial safety rules on operating the businesses during the state of alert continue to apply. The use of protective masks is still mandatory at the workplace with the exception of employees that do not share a working space with anybody, employees that are performing activities in conditions of extreme temperatures or that require a great amount of physical activity and also employees with health conditions that may lead to respiratory difficulties if they use protective masks. Additional individual protective gear may be required for specific employees with high exposure to risk factors. Soap and disinfectants should be widely and readily available to employees.  Local authorities have made the use of protective mask mandatory for all open air activities in specific time frames and in areas that are known to become crowded.

The recommendation for employers with more than 50 employees to use individualized working hours that allow employees to start work at 3 different hours is still in place. Also applicable during the extended state of alert period the employer’s obligation to properly inform the employees on the safety rules, the obligation to ensure that the employees follow the mandatory rules and to check the temperature of all employees at the beginning of the working program and will not allow any employee that has a temperature higher than 37.3°C to enter the workplace. Also the employer will not allow any employee that presents respiratory infection symptoms to enter the workplace.

During the state of alert the employer can still issue work from home decisions; however the employee’s consent is necessary. Under similar conditions the employer can change the place of the activity of the employees and their responsibilities.

Collective agreements will remain enforced during the state of alert and an additional period of 90 days after the state of alert will end. Collective negotiations will commence within 45 days of the date when the state of alert will end.

In order to encourage employers to allow employees to work from home, the Government will grant a financial incentive of 2.500 RON (approximately 515 Euros) for each employee that has worked from home at least 15 days during the pandemic.

For more information on these articles or any other issues involving labour and employment matters in Romania, please contact Magda Volonciu (Partner) of Magda Volonciu & Asociatii at magdavolonciu@volonciu.ro or visit www.volonciu.ro.