Do you know what are the legal working hours in Romania, according to the Labor Code? Find out more from our lawyers, below!

It is important to know, from the beginning, the daily schedule that you are going to agree with the employer, and from the perspective of the fact that, sometimes, it can be abusive and outside the legal norms. In order to know better what your rights are as an employee, we will discuss about the working time according to the Labor Code.

What is working time?

Intuitively, working time represents the period in which the activity is actually carried out, but it is also important to mention that the time to the workplace and, back to home can represent also a part of this notion.

When we analyze these aspects, by working time we also mean the fact that we are at the disposal of the employer and perform the related tasks, regardless of whether we work physically, in the office or in a work-from-home regime.

What is the statutory working time?

In the case of a full-time contract, the working time is represented by 8 hours/day and, cumulatively, 40 hours/week, but there is the possibility that the schedule will be uneven, so that after 5 days there will be two rest days. In principle, the employer must comply with the norm of 40 hours/week, but it is also possible to negotiate in certain sectors of activity that the working time per day be shorter or longer than 8 hours.

Given that an employment contract can be concluded with a person who is at least 15 years old, it is useful to know that for those under 18 the working time is reduced, 6 hours/day and 30 hours /week.

Is it a fixed limit of 40 hours/week?

No, 48 hours/week can be considered as a maximum duration, including possible overtime. There is an exception for extending this duration only if the average working hours are calculated over a period of 4 calendar months and the result is a time that does not exceed 48 hours/week.

What is the regime of overtime work?

In principle, additional work is carried out with the consent of the employee, but exceptionally for situations of force majeure, urgent work to prevent accidents or remove the consequences of an accident, the principle will not be applied.

Of course, it will be compensated by granting a sum of money, the equivalent of the working hours, but also some free hours, in the next 90 calendar days, or a salary increase will be granted.

Those under the age of 18 cannot perform additional work.

Is night work different?

First of all, we will consider night work only the activities which take place between 22.00 and 06.00 and will be considered a night employee who performs at least 3 hours of his activity time or 30% of his monthly working time, but it will not exceed an average of 8 hours/day, calculated over a maximum reference period of 3 calendar months.

Benefits such as a reduced work schedule of one hour from the normal working day will be granted for days when they work at least 3 hours/night, without affecting the basic salary.

In a similar way to overtime work, young people under the age of 18 cannot perform night work, and the same situation applies to pregnant women, women and those who are breastfeeding.

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If you would like to address more questions or if you need a legal consultation, you can contact us at office@rrpb.ro or by accessing our site www.rrpb.ro for more information.

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