Romania: Hight Court for Cassation and Justice Issued a Ruling on Uniform Interpretation of the Interdiction to Dismiss Employees During Medical Leave

The High Court for Cassation and Justice issued Decision No. 18/2025 establishing a uniform interpretation of Article 60 Paragraph 1 letter a) of the Romanian Labour Code, according to which the dismissal of employees cannot be ordered during the period of temporary incapacity for work, established by medical certificate according to the law (during the medical leave).

Prior to this decision, there were two conflicting opinions on the interpretation of this interdiction that were used by the lower courts. The first opinion assessed that the interdiction of dismissal provided for by the Labour Code concerns the moment of issuing the dismissal decision, that cannot be during the period in which the employee is in medical leave. The second opinion assessed that the prohibition on dismissal provided for by the same legal provision does not concern the moment of issuing the dismissal decision, but the date on which this decision produces its effects, meaning the date the dismissal decision is communicated to the employee. This difference in opinions generated a lot of issues in practice, as the employer could check on the date of issuing the dismissal decision if the employees were on medical leave, but for a multitude of reasons the date when the decision was communicated to the employee was a different one and the employee could go on medical leave. Depending on the opinion of the court handling such a case, the decision producing its effects during medical leave was considered to be null or valid.

After the issuing of Decision No. 18/2025, the High Court for Cassation and Justice the uniform interpretation of the interdiction was decided to be the one in the first opinion.

Practical point

The employers should check the status of the employees on the date of issuing the dismissal decision in order to determine if they are on medical leave or not.