Unfair Dismissal in Romania

Unfair dismissal (concediere abuzivă) is not a term of Romanian law. The Romanian Labour Code (Codul muncii, Law no. 53/2003) speaks of a dismissal that is unlawful, because the procedure was ignored, or unfounded, because the reason does not hold. Both lead to annulment and compensation (art. 80). I handle these cases in English, in Cluj.

What counts as a dismissal under the Romanian Labour Code?

Dismissal (concediere) is the termination of the individual employment contract (contract individual de muncă) at the employer’s initiative (art. 58(1)). The Code allows it on two families of grounds (art. 58(2)):

• Reasons related to you (art. 61): a serious or repeated breach of work discipline, applied as a disciplinary sanction; pre-trial detention or house arrest for more than 30 days; physical or mental unfitness established by the competent medical body; or professional inadequacy for the job.
• Reasons unrelated to you (art. 65): your position is eliminated. This is redundancy (desființarea postului), and it has its own page: redundancy in Romania.

Other ways a contract ends are not dismissals and follow different rules: your resignation (art. 81), termination by mutual agreement (art. 55(b)), expiry of a fixed-term contract (art. 56(1)(i)) and the written notification during probation (art. 31(3)). Employers sometimes use one label to hide another situation. What happened matters more than what the document is called.

Unlawful or unfounded: what is the difference?

A dismissal is unlawful (nelegală) when the form or the procedure fails. The decision must be communicated in writing and must contain the reasons, the length of the notice period, the selection criteria in a collective redundancy and, where art. 64 applies, the list of vacant posts (art. 76). For dismissals related to your person it must be reasoned in fact and in law and state the deadline and the court for a challenge (art. 62(3)). A disciplinary dismissal needs a prior disciplinary investigation (art. 63(1)); see the disciplinary procedure page. A dismissal for professional inadequacy needs a prior evaluation (art. 63(2)). A dismissal ordered in breach of the legal procedure is absolutely void (art. 78), and in court the employer cannot invoke facts or legal grounds that are not written in the decision (art. 79).

A dismissal is unfounded (netemeinică) when the facts do not support it: the position was not really eliminated or the elimination had no real and serious cause (art. 65(2)); the misconduct was not proven or did not justify the sanction; the evaluation was a formality. The court checks both the paperwork and the substance.

When is dismissal prohibited in Romania?

Two sets of rules protect you regardless of the reason the employer gives.

Art. 59 prohibits dismissal on grounds such as race, citizenship, ethnicity, colour, language, religion, social origin, genetic traits, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, chronic non-contagious disease, HIV infection, political opinion, family situation or responsibility, union membership or activity, or belonging to a disadvantaged category. It also prohibits dismissal for exercising the right to strike and union rights, and for exercising the rights listed in art. 17(3), art. 18(1), art. 31, art. 39(1), art. 85 and art. 194(2), for example asking for the information the employer owes you about your contract.

Art. 60(1) prohibits dismissal during certain periods: certified sick leave; quarantine; pregnancy, if the employer knew of it before issuing the decision; maternity leave; childcare leave for a child up to 2 years old, or 3 for a child with a disability; leave to care for a sick child up to 7, or 18 for a child with a disability; annual leave; paternity leave, carer’s leave and absence under art. 152^2. The one exception is dismissal following the employer’s judicial reorganisation, bankruptcy or dissolution (art. 60(2)).

Can I be dismissed during probation in Romania?

Yes, but only under the specific rule of art. 31(3): during or at the end of the probation period either party may end the contract by a written notification, without notice and without stating reasons. For this to be valid the probation must exist in your written contract (art. 17(3)(n) and (4)), it must stay within the legal maximum of 90 calendar days for execution roles and 120 for management roles (art. 31(1)), it must be the only probation under that contract (art. 32(1)), and the notification must be written and handed to you within the probation. The prohibitions in art. 59 still apply. A notification given after the probation ended is simply not a probation termination; the ordinary dismissal rules apply. You can challenge the notification within 45 calendar days (art. 268(1)(a)). More in the probation period guide.

What should I do in the first week after being dismissed?

1. Get it in writing and note the date. The decision takes effect from communication (art. 77), and your deadline runs from the date you learned of it. If you were told verbally, ask by email for the written decision and keep the email.
2. Sign only for receipt. Writing “received” with the date is fine. Do not sign a termination by mutual agreement or a resignation you did not ask for. Waivers of legal rights are void (art. 38), but a signed “agreement” makes the case harder.
3. Collect your documents. The contract and addenda, the job description (fișa postului), the internal regulation (regulament intern), payslips, the notice letter, any disciplinary summons or minutes. You can download an extract of your own REVISAL record online (art. 34(5^1)), and on termination the employer must issue a certificate of your employment and a register extract (Government Decision no. 295/2025 on the REGES-ONLINE register, art. 8(6)).
4. Write down the facts. Dates, names, what was said, who else was present. Save work emails that concern performance, restructuring or the position itself.
5. Check the deadline. 45 calendar days for a dismissal that is not a disciplinary sanction, 30 for a disciplinary one. Use the court deadline calculator and act within 30 days either way. Details on the contesting a dismissal page.
6. Keep working through the notice period. Where notice is owed, it is at least 20 working days (art. 75(1)) and it runs from the day after the notice was communicated (High Court decision RIL no. 8/2024).
7. Talk to a lawyer early. I review the decision and tell you in English whether there is a case: contact me.

What can the court order if the dismissal is unfair?

If the dismissal is unfounded or unlawful, the court annuls it and orders the employer to pay compensation equal to the indexed, increased and updated salaries and the other rights you would have had (art. 80(1)). If you ask, it orders reinstatement (reintegrare) to your former position (art. 80(2)). If you do not ask, the contract ends when the judgment becomes final (art. 80(3)). The first-instance judgment is enforceable (art. 274). For the court, the deadlines and the steps, read how to contest a dismissal or the overview on my employment law page.

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