Unpaid Wages and Overtime in Romania

Your salary is due at least monthly, on the date written in your contract (art. 166(1) of the Romanian Labour Code, Codul muncii, Law no. 53/2003). If your employer is not paying, complain to the Territorial Labour Inspectorate (ITM) and claim the money at the Cluj Tribunal within 3 years, with no court fee (art. 268(1)(c) and 270).

When must my salary be paid in Romania?

Every employee has the right to a salary expressed in money (art. 159(2)). It is paid at least monthly, on the date set in the individual employment contract (contract individual de muncă), the applicable collective agreement or the internal regulation (art. 166(1)), normally by bank transfer (art. 166(2)). An unjustified delay or non-payment can oblige the employer to pay damages on top of the salary (art. 166(4)). Statutory interest on unpaid wages can be estimated for the period of delay.

The base salary cannot be below the national minimum gross salary, which the Government sets by decision (art. 164(1) and (6)). An employee can be kept on the minimum salary for at most 24 months from the conclusion of the contract; after that the employer must grant a higher base salary (art. 164(8)).

Payment is proven by your signature on the payroll or by other documents showing the money reached you (art. 168(1)). Combined with the employer’s burden of proof in labour disputes (art. 272), this means the employer has to show that it paid, not the other way round.

Deductions are allowed only in the cases set by law (art. 169(1)). The employer cannot withhold money for alleged damage unless the debt is due, certain and established by a final court judgment (art. 169(2)), and total deductions cannot exceed half of the net monthly salary (art. 169(4)).

How is overtime paid in Romania?

Normal working time for a full-time employee is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week (art. 112(1)). Anything beyond the normal weekly duration is overtime (ore suplimentare) (art. 120(1)). Overtime requires your agreement, except in force majeure or for urgent work to prevent or deal with accidents (art. 120(2)). Working time including overtime cannot exceed 48 hours a week, averaged over a reference period of 4 months (art. 114(1) and (2)).

The compensation rule has two steps:

1. Overtime is compensated with paid time off within the following 90 calendar days (art. 122(1)), and you receive your normal salary for the hours worked (art. 122(2)).
2. If time off is not possible within that term, the overtime is paid in the following month with a supplement (spor) negotiated in the collective or individual contract, which cannot be below 75% of the base salary (art. 123(1) and (2)).

Employees who have to work on a public holiday receive time off within 30 days or, if that is not granted for justified reasons, a supplement of at least 100% of the base salary (art. 142). Employees under 18 cannot work overtime (art. 124).

Your contract must state the conditions for compensating or paying overtime (art. 17(3)(l)). A clause saying that overtime is “included in the salary” grants less than the legal minimum, which the Code does not allow (art. 11), and you cannot validly waive the right (art. 38).

How do I prove unpaid overtime?

The employer must keep a daily record of the hours worked by each employee at the workplace, with start and end times, and show it to labour inspectors on request (art. 119(1)). For mobile employees and employees working from home, the record is kept as agreed with them in writing (art. 119(2)). In court the burden of proof is on the employer (art. 272), so the absence of records works against it. Your own evidence still matters: emails sent at night, ticketing logs, badge entries, shift schedules, chat messages and colleagues who saw you work.

What can I do if my employer is not paying?

1. Ask in writing. Send an email stating the amounts and months due and asking for payment by a date you set. Ask for your payslips too. This creates the paper trail the court will read.
2. Complain to ITM Cluj. Labour inspectors can check the payroll (art. 168) and the time records (art. 119(1)) and sanction the employer. ITM does not pay you the money and cannot order payment; that is the court’s job.
3. File a court claim. The claim goes to the tribunal of your domicile, residence or workplace (art. 269(2)), in Cluj the Cluj Tribunal (Tribunalul Cluj). You have 3 years from each due date (art. 268(1)(c), art. 171(1)), there is no court fee (art. 270), the employer carries the burden of proof (art. 272) and you can add damages for the delay (art. 166(4)). The first-instance judgment is enforceable (art. 274), so a bailiff (executor judecătoresc) can collect if the employer still refuses.
4. Consider resigning without notice. If the employer does not fulfil its contractual obligations you may resign without notice (art. 81(8)). Document the breach first. See resignation and notice period.

Check the dates with the court deadline calculator.

What if my employer is insolvent?

When a court has opened insolvency proceedings or a preventive concordat against the employer, the Guarantee Fund for the payment of salary claims steps in (Law no. 200/2006, art. 2). It pays unpaid salaries, compensation for unused leave for at most one year of work, severance owed under the collective or individual contract, compensation owed for work accidents or occupational disease, and allowances due during a temporary reduction or interruption of activity (art. 13(1)). The total is capped at 5 national average gross salaries per employee (art. 14(1)) and covers at most 5 consecutive months (art. 15(1)). Amounts are paid net (art. 13(2)).

In insolvency, the judicial administrator or liquidator must issue your employment certificate within 60 calendar days and register the end of your contract in REVISAL (art. 34(6^1) of the Labour Code). I prepare the file and the claim; the Fund’s procedure runs through the employment agency.

If you were also dismissed, read unfair dismissal in Romania and contesting a dismissal. For the full picture of what I do, see my employment law page, or contact me with your payslips and contract.

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