April 2025 – In recent years, we have seen several new obligations imposed on employers in Romania, and 2025 will be no different. Starting from January 2025, certain amendments to Romanian labour legislation entered into force, impacting employers significantly.
In a nutshell, the new amendments aim to:
- ensure adequate minimum wages;
- introduce stricter rules for employers on handling workplace harassment cases;
- introduce new requirements to ensure gender balance in the management of companies traded on a regulated market; and
- adopt new measures to protect people with disabilities.
Details of the new legal obligations of employers are outlined below.
I. Ensuring adequate minimum wages
1. New mechanism for establishing and updating the minimum gross basic salary at the national level
As of 6 February 2025, following the entering into force of Government Decision no. 35/2025[1] (“G.D. no. 35/2025”), a new procedure is introduced for determining and applying the mechanism for establishing and updating the gross minimum basic salary at the national level guaranteed in payment. G.D. no. 35/2025 was adopted following the latest amendment of the Labour Code by Law no. 283/2024.
By G.D. no. 35/2025, the following matters were established:
- the definition of the basic salary as the fixed component of the gross remuneration paid to an employee for work performed monthly, excluding bonuses, allowances, and other additions;
- the criteria for establishing and updating the gross minimum basic salary at the national level guaranteed in payment, namely:
(i) the purchasing power of the minimum salary, considering the cost of living;
(ii) the general level of salaries and their distribution;
(iii) salary growth rate; and
(iv) long-term national productivity levels and trends;
- the indicators needed to establish/update the gross minimum basic salary: the forecast annual inflation rate, the forecast annual gross domestic product (GDP), the forecast employment population and, respectively, the forecast average gross monthly salary;
- the formula for determining and updating annually the gross minimum basic salary by reference to the sum of the average annual forecast inflation rate and the forecast annual real growth rate of labour productivity;
- if the ratio between the value of the gross minimum basic salary determined by applying the prescribed formula and the forecast average gross monthly earnings is less than 52%, the National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue will negotiate within the limits determined according to the formula and the indicative level of the benchmark for the assessment of adequacy (i.e., 47%-52% of the share of the gross minimum basic wage in the average gross earnings).
We would like to reiterate that the minimum gross basic salary guaranteed in payment may be granted to an employee for a maximum period of 24 months from the date of conclusion of the individual employment contract. After the expiry of this period, the employee will be granted a basic salary higher than the guaranteed gross national minimum basic salary.
2. Current minimum salary in 2025
As of 1 January 2025, following the entering into force of Government Decision no. 1506/2024[2], the gross minimum basic salary at the national level guaranteed in payment is RON 4,050 per month for a normal work schedule of 165.334 hours per month on average.
For employees, this represents a monthly net of RON 2,574, taking into consideration the tax benefits of RON 300, for which no income tax is due and which is not included in the monthly basis for calculating mandatory social contributions. This facility is provided by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 156/2024 (“G.E.O. no. 156/2024”) for full-time employees whose gross monthly basic salary or assimilated income is equal to the level of the guaranteed minimum gross salary at the national level.
3. Minimum salary for certain domains
It is notable that, as opposed to the trend in the previous years, as of 2025, G.E.O. no. 156/2024 has eliminated the specific tax facilities granted in the previous years for the employees in the IT, construction, and agricultural and food industry sectors.
The construction sector
As of 1 January 2025, in accordance with G.E.O. no. 156/2024, for the construction sector, the gross minimum basic salary at the national level guaranteed in payment, without including allowances, increments and other additions, remains at the level of RON 4,582, representing a monthly net of RON 2,739.
Due to the lack of any tax facilities, construction workers retain a lower net amount than the previous year.
The agricultural and food industry sector
In the agricultural and food industry sector, GEO no. 156/2024[3] provides an increase of the gross minimum basic salary at the national level, which is in the amount of RON 4,050, without including allowances, increments and other additions.
For employees, this represents a monthly net of RON 2,574, taking into consideration the tax benefits of RON 300, for which no income tax is due and which is not included in the monthly basis for calculating mandatory social contributions.
In the agricultural and food industry sector, GEO no. 156/2024[3] provides an increase of the gross minimum basic salary at the national level, which is in the amount of RON 4,050, without including allowances, increments and other additions.
II. New obligations on handling workplace harassment cases
The year 2025 also brings a new amendment to Romanian legislation in the field of harassment through G.D. no. 27/2025[4], which amends the methodology on preventing and combating harassment based on sex, as well as moral harassment at the workplace, the implementation of which became mandatory in April 2024. The normative amendment entered into force on 3 February 2025 and, as we will highlight below, requires the review and amendment of the internally implemented methodology on preventing and combating harassment based on sex, as well as moral harassment at the workplace.
1. Admission and resolution of anonymous complaints
While in the past, victims of harassment were obliged to state their identity when filing a complaint, the new regulation requires employers to analyse and respond even to unsigned complaints, provided they contain sufficient information about the facts of the complaint.
In this context, employers need to update their internal procedures and implement technical solutions to collect and handle these anonymous complaints, i.e., setting up a reporting channel based solely on a dedicated e-mail address will not be sufficient.
In addition, complying with the new legislative changes could also imply revising the local whistleblowing policy, for example to remove possible prohibitions on filing harassment complaints through the channels dedicated to this purpose, as from 3 February 2025 the specific channels of whistleblowing policies could also be used for reporting harassment, as they can be anonymous.
2. Providing support to victims of harassment
Employers must put in place procedures and mechanisms to provide expert counselling and guidance to anyone who makes a complaint, regardless of whether the investigation subsequently confirms harassment or not.
Employers can thus choose to either allocate specialised in-house resources or work with external service providers, but it is important that this counselling is provided to employees free of charge.
3. Training and awareness-raising courses
Finally, the new law extends information and awareness-raising obligations, requiring employers to implement measures to facilitate victims' access to administrative protection procedures.
Thus, in addition to mandatory training courses on the prevention of discrimination and harassment, employers must provide details of the protection options available and actively support victims in using them.
III. New obligations regarding gender balance in the management of companies listed on a regulated market
Starting from 5 March 2025, Law no. 24/2017 regarding issuers of financial instruments and market operations was amended through Law no. 11/2025[5] by introducing a series of important provisions aimed at promoting gender balance within the management bodies of companies listed on a regulated market in Romania.
By Law no. 11/2025, the following matters were established:
- scope of application: the new legal provisions apply to companies listed on a regulated market with their registered office in Romania, excluding micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises;
- diversity target: the companies concerned must meet one of the following targets:
— at least 40% of non-executive director positions must be held by individuals of the underrepresented gender; or
— at least 33% of all director positions (executive and non-executive) must be held by individuals of the underrepresented gender;
- candidate selection: if the above-mentioned targets are not met, companies are required to review their selection process for board members by applying clear, neutral, and transparent criteria, consistently throughout all selection stages; if there are multiple candidates with equal levels of qualification, experience and performance, priority will be given to the candidate of the underrepresented gender, unless justified by other relevant diversity policies;
- right to information and challenge: unsuccessful candidates have the right to request details about the criteria applied, as well as the reasoning behind the decision; furthermore, they may challenge an appointment decision in court if there are indications that the selection process did not comply with the legal requirements;
- transparency and reporting obligations: companies concerned must publish their selection/suitability policy on their official website; in addition, by 15 July 2025, they must submit a report to the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) on the gender composition of their management bodies, as well as the measures taken to meet the applicable legal targets.
Along with the introduction of these obligations, the targeted companies will need to review the current structure of their management bodies and reassess their internal selection policies.
IV. New obligations to protect people with disabilities
Under Law no. 448/2006 on the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities[6] , companies with at least 50 employees are required to ensure that at least 4% of their workforce consists of persons with disabilities.
Starting 1 January 2025, a number of new obligations have entered into force for employers with at least 50 employees, following the amendments brought to Law no. 48/2006 by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 127/2024[7] ("GEO 127/2024"). These measures aim to strengthen the effective access of persons with disabilities to the labour market, through the direct involvement of employers in the professional integration process.
Among the most relevant changes introduced by GEO 127/2024 are new obligations for employers, as detailed below.
1. Requesting support from specialised NGOs
Targeted employers are required to submit a standard request form to at least three non-governmental organisations that focus on the professional integration of persons with disabilities, with the aim of identifying suitable candidates for available roles.
Proof of these steps, including the requests and any responses received, must be submitted to:
- the National Authority for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“ANPDPD”); and
- the County Employment Agency (“AJOFM”).
The deadline for submitting the requests is within 10 days from the date on which the company reaches the threshold of 50 employees.
2. Submitting an annual centralised report
Concerned employers must submit, each year by 31 January (for the previous calendar year), a centralised report to both ANPDPD and AJOFM, indicating the positions occupied by persons with disabilities, as well as a summary of the skills and qualifications required for those roles.
3. Conclusions
Finally, we mention that the general legal requirements regarding the employment of persons with disabilities remain in place. Employers who do not meet the 4% quota can opt for one of the following obligations:
(a) to pay, on a monthly basis, to the state budget an amount equal to the minimum gross basic salary at the national level guaranteed in payment multiplied by the number of jobs in which they have not employed persons with disabilities;
(b) to pay, on a monthly basis, to the state budget an amount representing the equivalent of at least 50% of the minimum gross basic salary at the national level guaranteed in payment multiplied by the number of jobs in which they have not employed persons with disabilities, and with the amount representing the difference up to the amount referred to in letter (a) above, to purchase, on a partnership basis, products and/or services produced by the own activity of persons with disabilities employed in authorised sheltered units.