Romania: Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on Adequate Minimum Wages in the European Union Transposed into Romanian Law by Law No. 283/2024
Law No. 283/2024 has made changes in the Romanian Labour Code in order to implement the general rules set by the Directive regarding minimum wage and encouraging the collective negotiations process as Romania has constantly been recommended to implement rules that will increase the percentage of employees covered by collective agreements.
The Labour Code was updated and now includes a definition for “work relationships” a general framework that also includes activities provided outside of an existing individual employment agreement. As a direct result of this new legal definition, new categories of workers are covered by legal protection, mainly regarding the guaranteed minimum wage. This extended legal protection also includes the possibility of labour inspectors to check compliance with the payment of the minimum wage for the other categories of workers that don’t have employee status.
The minimum wage in Romania starting January 2025 is expected to be RON 4,050 (approximately EUR 814, USD 860).
Practical point
The Labour Inspectorates might increase the number of field operations in order to check if the rules regarding the payment of the minimum wage are observed. Employers that have upcoming collective negotiations can expect unions and employees’ representatives to have demands on the increase of all salaries in a comparable manner with the minimum wage.
