Last updated: 21 May 2015
LABOR LAW: NEW RULESRE GARDING THE WEEKLY REST PERIOD
A few months after the changes in Labor Law regarding paid leave and work seniority (presented to you in our article of January 29), this time we are presenting to you the newest changes in Labor Law, which entered into force following the adoption of Law no. 97/2015.
Law no. 97/2015, published in the Official Journal no. 316 of May 8, 2015, amended article 137 paragraph 1 of the Labor Code regarding the employees’ weekly rest period and is applicable starting from May 11, 2015.
The former version of article 137 paragraph 1 of the Labor Code provided that the weekly rest period consisted of two consecutive days, usually Saturday and Sunday.
The amendment introduced by Law no. 97/2015 provides that the weekly rest period is of 48 consecutive hours and it is usually granted on Saturday and Sunday.
This amendment expressly grants the possibility to calculate the weekly rest period starting from the hour when the work is over and until the hour when work is resumed. For example, if work time ends on Saturday, at 12:00, the employee can resume his/her work on Monday, at 12:00.
INCREASE OF THE MINIMUM WAGE
We are reminding you that, starting from July 1 st , 2015, the minimum wage will be 1.050 Lei (approximately 235 Euros) for a full-time work of 168.667 hours/month, namely 6.225 Lei/hour. The present minimum wage is 975 Lei/month.
Taking into account that this increase is imposed by the law, it is not compulsory to conclude an addendum to the work contract. The wage increase also implies the increase of the social security contributions to be paid by the employer.
Employers who fail to comply with the provisions of Government Decision no. 1091/2014 on the minimum wage and grant a wage inferior to 1.050 Lei can be sanctioned by a fine between 1,000 and 2,000 lei.