Employment contract in Romania: Template, Key Clauses and Local Law (2026)

The short answer An employment contract in Romania is the individual employment contract (contractul individual de munca) and it is governed by the Labour Code (Law no. 53/2003, republished). Unlike in some countries, writing is compulsory: the contract must be in writing in Romanian and registered in the national register of employees before the employee starts work. The Labour Code also lists the information the employer must give, caps probation and fixed-term durations, sets minimum notice and strictly regulates dismissal. Collective agreements at sector or company level can improve on the statutory floor. Because the formalities are strict and dismissal procedure is unforgiving, a careful contract and a correct process matter more here than the negotiating. ## What law governs the contract The Labour Code is the core, supported by secondary legislation and by the Fiscal Code for pay and contributions. The contract must be registered before the first day of work in the general register of employees, which has moved to the national online system (the register historically known as Revisal, now operated through the newer REGES-Online platform). Confirm the current registration portal with the Labour Inspectorate, since the system transitioned recently. Permanent, open-ended employment is the default. Fixed-term contracts are an exception, must be justified, and are capped (a single fixed-term contract runs for a defined period and the overall limit is commonly stated as 36 months), with limits on how often they may be renewed. ## What the contract must contain The Labour Code requires the employer to inform the employee of, and the contract to record, a defined set of terms, including: - the identity of the parties and the place of work

• the job title and description of duties, with the relevant occupation code
• risks specific to the role and date of commencement
• for fixed-term contracts, the duration
• annual leave entitlement
• notice periods for both parties
• the basic salary, other components and pay frequency
• normal working hours
• the collective agreement that applies ## The clauses that matter most Probation. Probation is capped by the Labour Code and varies with the role. For open-ended contracts the common maxima are up to 90 calendar days for ordinary (execution) positions and up to 120 calendar days for management positions, with shorter limits for fixed-term work. A new probation period cannot be set when the same parties sign a new contract for the same role within a short period. Notice. On dismissal for reasons not attributable to the employee, the Labour Code sets a minimum notice (commonly stated as at least 20 working days for non-management staff); the contract or collective agreement may give more. On resignation, the employee gives notice up to a statutory maximum that is shorter for execution roles and longer for management. Minimum wage and pay. Romania sets a national gross minimum wage by Government decision, revised regularly, so confirm the current figure before fixing salary. The contract must state the basic salary and any additional components. Working time and leave. Normal time is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, capped at 48 including overtime averaged over a reference period. Paid annual leave is at least 20 working days. Non-compete. A post-employment non-compete is valid only within limits: it can last at most two years after the contract ends and must provide a monthly indemnity of at least half the employee's average gross salary over the previous six months. ## A simple template outline A workable Romanian employment contract follows the Labour Code template closely: parties; place of work; job title, duties and occupation code; start date and, for fixed term, duration; probation; working time; basic salary, components and pay date; annual leave; notice periods; applicable collective agreement; confidentiality and, where lawful, a non-compete with its indemnity; data protection; and the general reference to the Labour Code. It must be in Romanian and registered before the start date. ## Common mistakes and red flags The most serious errors are procedural: starting someone before the written contract is signed and registered, or dismissing without a lawful ground and the exact statutory procedure, which can make the dismissal void and expose the employer to reinstatement and back pay. Setting probation or a fixed term beyond the legal cap is a common slip. A non-compete without the required indemnity, or longer than two years, is unenforceable. And fixing salary below the current national minimum is invalid. Follow the Labour Code template, register on time, and run any termination strictly by the book. ## Changing, suspending and ending the contract Romanian employment is unusually formal not only at the start but throughout its life, and the contract should reflect that. Once signed, its terms can generally be changed only by a written addendum (act aditional) agreed by both parties and registered, so an employer cannot quietly alter pay, duties or place of work. The main exceptions, such as a temporary change of workplace or duties in defined circumstances, are set out in the Labour Code and are limited. Building a clear change mechanism into the contract, pointing to the addendum requirement, avoids disputes about whether a variation was validly made. The contract can also be suspended, by law, by agreement or at the initiative of one party, for grounds the Labour Code lists, such as parental leave, medical leave or certain unpaid leave, during which the core obligations pause. On the way out, the strict dismissal procedure is the single biggest trap: dismissal needs a lawful ground and the exact statutory steps, including, where relevant, a disciplinary investigation, and a procedural slip can render the dismissal void with reinstatement and back pay following. Data protection is a further running obligation, since the employer processes significant personal data, so a GDPR-aligned clause and a lawful basis for monitoring belong in the modern Romanian contract. This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and the right answer depends on your facts, so confirm the current position with a qualified lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction before you sign. ## Keeping the paperwork in one place Step back from the clauses and the real problem is organisational. An employment contract is not a one-off document. It sits beside the collective or sector agreement, the written statement of terms, later amendments on pay and role, policies, and a running record of who agreed what and when. When those live across inboxes, shared drives and signed PDFs, the current version becomes hard to trust and the obligations inside, such as a notice window or a review date, slip out of view. The drafting, the review for risky or non-compliant clauses, the version history and the tracking of key dates are all the same body of work, and it is far easier when it lives in one workspace rather than five disconnected tools. That single-workspace idea is what Adira is built around: draft, understand, edit, track and govern a contract in one place, tuned to how your company works. Adira is India-first today, with other jurisdictions on its roadmap, so for Romanian-specific employment law you should still rely on local counsel and local templates. The direction worth taking from this page is the simple one: contracts you can trust are the ones that stay in one place, in step, with their deadlines in view.