Law no. 298/2020 supplementing Law no. 53/2003 - Labor Code

The Romanian Parliament adopted the law supplementing Law no. 53/2003 - Labor Code

Changes to the situations in which the individual employment contract may be suspended at the employer’s initiative:

• the individual employment contract may be suspended at the employer’s initiative and throughout the period of temporary suspension of the activity and/or reduction thereof as a result of the enactment of the state of siege or state of emergency.

Clarifications regarding the temporary suspension of the activity and/or its reduction as a result of the enactment of the state of siege or of the state of emergency:

• in case of temporary suspension of the activity and/or reduction thereof as a result of the enactment of the state of siege or state of emergency, the employees affected by the reduced or interrupted activity, who have their individual employment contract suspended, benefit from an allowance paid from the unemployment insurance budget, in the amount of 75% of the basic salary corresponding to the job held, but not more than 75% of the average gross salary used in order to substantiate the state social insurance budget in force, for the entire period of the state of siege or state of emergency, as applicable;

Note: if the employer’s budget intended for the payment of personnel costs allows, the allowance mentioned above may be supplemented by the employer with amounts representing a difference of up to at least 75% of the basic salary corresponding to the job held;

• in cases where an employee has concluded several individual employment contracts, of which at least one full-time contract is active throughout the period of the state of siege or state of emergency, he does not benefit from the above-mentioned allowance;


• in cases where an employee has concluded several individual employment contracts and all of them are suspended as a result of the establishment of the state of siege or state of emergency, he benefits from the above-mentioned allowance related to the individual employment contract with the most advantageous salary rights;


• employers may gradually take other measures in order to reduce or stop the activity, as the case may be. If the employer adopts the measure of suspension of the individual employment contract, replacing, in whole or in part, the measure of reduction of the weekly work schedule from 5 to 4 days, ordered under the conditions of art. 52 par. (3), the payment of the allowance is granted only as of the date of suspension of the individual employment contract in case of temporary interruption or reduction of activity, without 2 termination of the employment relationship, for economic, technological, structural or similar reasons, or throughout the period of temporary suspension and/or reduction of activity as a result of the enactment of a state of siege or a state of emergency;


• employers cannot terminate the jobs held by persons whose individual employment contracts have been suspended in case of temporary interruption or reduction of activity, without termination of the employment relationship, for economic, technological, structural or similar reasons or throughout the period of temporary suspension and/or reduction of activity as a result of the enactment of the state of siege or of the state of emergency, for a period at least equal to the period of suspension during which they benefited, for such employees, from the payment of allowances from the unemployment social insurance budget; the breach of this obligation constitutes a contravention and is sanctioned by the obligation to return the amounts received as compensation thoughout the period of temporary suspension and/or reduction of the activity as a result of the enactment of the state of siege or of the state of emergency, for the terminated jobs;

Note: the provisions apply only in the event of termination of jobs held by persons whose individual employment contracts have been suspended in case of temporary interruption or reduction of activity, without termination of the employment relationship, for economic, technological, structural or similar reasons after the date entry into force of Law no. 298/2020.

Clarifications regarding the fiscal obligations throughout the period of temporary suspension and/or reduction of the activity as a result of the enactment of the state of siege or of the state of emergency:

• the above-mentioned allowance is subject to taxation and to the payment of mandatory social contributions, according to the provisions of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, with its subsequent amendments and additions;


• in the case of the above-mentioned allowance, the calculation, withholding and payment of income tax, of the state social insurance contribution and social health insurance contribution are done by the employer, from the allowances received from the unemployment insurance budget;


• the deadline for the payment and declaration of the fiscal obligations specified above is the 25th included of the month following the month in which the payment is made from the unemployment insurance budget;


• for the allowance mentioned above, no insurance contribution for work is owed according to the provisions of art. 2205 of Law no. 227/2015, with its subsequent amendments and additions;


• the period for which the employees whose individual employment contracts are suspended and the employers of those employees do not owe the insurance contribution for work constitutes a contributory period without payment of the contribution in the social health insurance system for leaves and social health insurance benefits provided by the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 158/2005, approved with its amendments and additions by Law no. 399/2006, with its subsequent amendments and additions.


• for the establishment and calculation of the social health insurance benefits provided by the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 158/2005, approved with amendments and additions by Law no. 399/2006, with its subsequent amendments and additions, the national minimum gross basic salary guaranteed to be paid will be used, which was in force during the period of temporary suspension and/or reduction of the activity as a result of the enactment of the state of siege or of the state of emergency;


• if the contributory period corresponds to a fraction of a month, the national minimum gross basic salary guaranteed to be paid is used, which was in force during the period concerned, corresponding to the fraction of a month.

Clarifications regarding the granting of the amounts necessary for the payment of the allowance:

• in order to grant the amounts necessary for the payment of the above-mentioned allowance, the employers will submit, by e-mail, to the county employment agencies, as well as to those in the municipality of Bucharest, within whose area they have their registered office:


• an application signed and dated by the legal representative,


• a statement on one's own responsibility (affidavit),


• the list of persons who are to benefit from such allowance, assumed by the legal representative of the employer, according to the template approved by order of the Minister of Labor and Social Protection;


• the documents should be submitted during the current month for the payment of the allowance pertaining to the previous month;


• the payment of the allowances from the unemployment insurance budget is made within a maximum of 15 days from the submission of the documents into the accounts opened by the employers with commercial banks, and the payment of the allowance to the employee is made within a maximum of 3 working days from the receipt of such amounts by the employer.