Disciplinary Procedure in Romania

A Romanian employer can apply only the disciplinary sanctions listed in art. 248 of the Romanian Labour Code (Codul muncii, Law no. 53/2003) and, except for a written warning, only after a prior disciplinary investigation with a written summons (art. 251). The decision must follow art. 252 and can be challenged within 30 calendar days (art. 252(5)).

What disciplinary sanctions can an employer apply in Romania?

Misconduct (abatere disciplinară) is an act related to work, committed with fault, by which you breach the law, the internal regulation, your contract, the collective agreement or the lawful orders of your superiors (art. 247(2)). The sanctions are limited to these five (art. 248(1)):

• the written warning (avertisment scris);
• demotion (retrogradare) to a lower function, with the corresponding salary, for at most 60 days;
• a reduction of the base salary by 5% to 10% for 1 to 3 months;
• a reduction of the base salary and, where applicable, of the management allowance by 5% to 10% for 1 to 3 months;
• disciplinary termination of the employment contract.

Disciplinary fines are prohibited (art. 249(1)). Only one sanction may be applied for the same act (art. 249(2)). The employer must weigh the circumstances, your degree of fault, the consequences, your general conduct and any previous sanctions (art. 250). A sanction is deleted by law 12 months after it was applied if no new sanction follows, and the employer records the deletion in a written decision (art. 248(3)).

How does the prior disciplinary investigation work?

1. Appointment. The employer designates a person, sets up a committee or hires an external labour-law consultant to run the investigation (art. 251(1^1)).
2. Written summons. You are summoned in writing by that person, the committee chair or the consultant, with the object, date, time and place of the meeting (art. 251(2)). A corridor conversation is not a summons.
3. The hearing. You may present and support every defence, hand over evidence and explanations, and be assisted, at your request, by an external consultant in labour law (consultant extern specializat în legislația muncii) or by a union representative (art. 251(4)). I attend with you and I can file your defences in writing, in Romanian, before the meeting.
4. If you do not attend. Absence without an objective reason lets the employer sanction you without the investigation (art. 251(3)). If you cannot attend, say so in writing and ask for another date.
5. The decision. The employer has 30 calendar days from learning of the act, and at most 6 months from the act itself, to issue the written decision (art. 252(1)).

The Code does not require the summons or the hearing to be in English. Ask for the accusation in writing, take your time to understand it, and answer in writing if you prefer. Everything you say at the hearing can appear in the decision, so prepare it.

What must the sanction decision contain?

Under penalty of absolute nullity, the written decision must include (art. 252(2)):

• the description of the act considered misconduct;
• the provisions of the staff statute, internal regulation, individual contract or collective agreement that you allegedly breached;
• the reasons why your defences were rejected, or why the investigation was not held under art. 251(3);
• the legal basis of the sanction;
• the deadline for challenging it;
• the competent court.

The decision is communicated within 5 calendar days from issue and takes effect from communication (art. 252(3)). It is handed to you personally against signature or, if you refuse, sent by registered letter to the home or residence address you gave the employer (art. 252(4)). You may challenge it in court within 30 calendar days from communication (art. 252(5)).

What makes a disciplinary sanction void?

• No prior investigation before a sanction heavier than a written warning (art. 251(1)).
• A summons that does not state the object, date, time and place (art. 251(2)).
• A decision issued more than 30 calendar days after the employer learned of the act, or more than 6 months after the act (art. 252(1)).
• A decision missing any of the mandatory elements of art. 252(2), for example no description of the act or no answer to your defences.
• A sanction outside the list: a fine (art. 249(1)), a demotion longer than 60 days, a pay cut above 10% or longer than 3 months (art. 248(1)).
• Two sanctions for the same act (art. 249(2)).
• A disciplinary dismissal without the investigation and the deadlines of the Code (art. 63(1)), or in breach of the dismissal procedure (art. 78).
• On the merits: the act is not misconduct under art. 247(2), because there was no breach or no fault, or the sanction is out of proportion to the act (art. 250).

How do I challenge a disciplinary sanction?

The challenge (contestație) goes to the tribunal of your domicile, residence or workplace (art. 269(2)), in Cluj the Cluj Tribunal (Tribunalul Cluj), within 30 calendar days from communication of the decision (art. 252(5), art. 268(1)(b)). This is a strict time limit. There is no court fee (art. 270), the employer must prove its case and file its evidence by the first hearing (art. 272), and the case is heard urgently (art. 271). Count the days with the court deadline calculator.

If the sanction was a disciplinary dismissal, the court annuls it and orders compensation equal to the indexed, increased and updated salaries, plus reinstatement if you ask (art. 80). For lesser sanctions the court annuls the decision, and the withheld pay becomes due, with damages possible under art. 253(1). The steps of the court case are described on the contesting a dismissal page.

What should I bring?

• the written summons and any minutes of the hearing;
• the written defences or emails you sent during the investigation;
• the sanction decision and proof of the date you received it;
• your contract, job description (fișa postului) and the internal regulation (regulament intern);
• any evidence about the facts: emails, messages, schedules, witnesses;
• previous evaluations or sanctions, if any.

If the sanction is a dismissal, read also unfair dismissal in Romania. For the overview of my work see employment law in Cluj. If you have just received a summons, contact me before the hearing, not after.

Consolidated text of the law: Codul muncii, Legea nr. 53/2003 (legislatie.just.ro).