Content:
• Decision No. 1133/2020
• Law No. 298/2020
• Emergency Ordinance No. 220/2020
Decision No. 1133/2020
Decision no. 1133 published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 1326 of December 31, 2020, establishing the number of foreign workers newly admitted on the Romanian labour market in 2021, brings the following clarifications:
Comment: This Decision establishes the number of foreign workers newly admitted on the Romanian labour market in 2021 at 25.000.
Law No. 298/2020
Law 298 published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 1293 of December 24, 2020, amending and supplementing Law no. 53/2003 regarding the Labour Code, brings the following clarifications:
Comment: This law establishes the following:
- In Article 52 paragraph (1), which establishes the suspension of individual employment contracts at the initiative of the employer, after letter e) is inserted a new letter f), with the following wording: “f) during the temporary suspension and/or reduction of the activity due to the curfew or the state of emergency established in accordance with Art. 93 para. (1) of the Constitution of Romania, republished.”
- A new article is introduced, Article 531 which requires that in the case of temporary suspension and/or reduction of the activity due to the curfew or the state of emergency established in accordance with Art. 93 para. (1) of the Constitution of Romania, the employees affected by the suspension or reduction of the activity, whose individual employment contract is suspended, benefit from an allowance paid from the unemployment insurance budget, in the amount of 75% of the basic salary corresponding to the job position occupied, but not more than 75% of the average gross salary used for the state social insurance budget in force, throughout the duration of the curfew or state of emergency, as the case may be.
- If the employer’s budget for the payment of personnel expenses allows it, the allowance provided above can be supplemented by the employer with amounts representing the difference of up to minimum 75% of the basic salary corresponding to the position held, according to the provisions of Art. 53 para. (1).
- This allowance is subject to taxation and payment of compulsory social contributions, but is exempt of the work insurance contribution in accordance with the provisions of art. 2205 of Law no. 227/2015.
- If an employee has several individual employment contracts, from which at least one full-time contract is still active during the curfew or state of emergency, the employee will not benefit from this allowance;
- If an employee has several individual employment contracts and all of them are suspended due to the curfew or state of emergency, the employee will benefit from the allowance provided above based on the employment contract with the most advantageous salary rights.
- The period in question, for which employees with suspended individual employment contracts and their employers are exempt from the payment of the work insurance contribution, represents the contribution period without the payment of the contributions due for social health insurance leaves and indemnities as provided by Emergency Ordinance no. 158/2005 on social health insurance leaves and indemnities. The social health insurance indemnities are established and calculated based on the minimum gross salary per country, in force during the curfew period or state of emergency.
- If the contribution period is corresponding to a fraction of a month, the point of reference is the minimum gross salary per country, in force at the time and corresponding to the fraction of the month.
Emergency Ordinance No. 220/2020
Emergency Ordinance no. 220 published in the Official Gazette, Part I no. 1326 of December 31, 2020 regarding certain social protection measures implemented after January 1, 2021 due to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and the amendment of some normative acts, brings the following clarifications:
Comment: The emergency ordinance establishes the following measures:
- Employers who, between January 1 — September 1, 2021 employ for an indefinite, full-time period, persons over 50 years of age whose employment relations have ceased for reasons not attributable to them, during the state of emergency or alert, and persons between 16 and 29 years registered as unemployed in the county employment agencies records, classified in the same age group, whose employment relations with foreign employers based in other countries have ceased in 2020, for reasons not attributable to them, through dismissal, receive monthly, for a period of 12 months, for each person employed in this category, 50% of the employee’s salary, but not more than RON 2,500. Employers have the obligation to maintain employment relations for a period of at least 12 months from the end of the 12 month term provided above.
- Persons who carry out non-skilled activities on an occasional basis, as established by Law no. 52/2011 governing the occasional activities carried out by day labourers, hereinafter day labourers, and who operate in one of the fields mentioned in Art. 13 of this Law, and have been affected by the interruption or restriction of their activity due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, are granted from the state budget an amount representing 35% of their daily payment, for a period of 3 months, at the choice of the Beneficiary and no later than June 30, 2021.
- Until June 30, 2021, but up to 3 months, at the employer’s choice, for the employees who conclude a fixed-term employment contract of up to 3 months, it is ensured the settlement of a part of the salary paid to them, borne from the unemployment insurance budget, representing 41,5% of the salary related to the days worked in these workplaces, for a working period of 8 hours/day, but not more than 41,5% of the average gross salary stipulated in the Law related to the social insurance budget, for the period worked.
- Paragraph (1) of Article 82 of Emergency Ordinance no. 147/2020 regarding the granting of days off for parents in order to supervise children, when in-person teaching activities are limited or suspended by educational institutions and preschool units, is amended meaning that the provisions of this ordinance apply until June 30, 2021 and in case the Minister of Education issues an order to suspend in-person teaching activities in educational institutions and preschool units and continue them in the online environment.