Workplace Harassment in Romania

Workplace harassment (hărțuire la locul de muncă) is prohibited in Romania as discrimination under the Romanian Labour Code (Codul muncii, Law no. 53/2003, art. 5(5)) and as moral harassment under Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 (art. 2(5^1)). You can complain internally, to the Labour Inspectorate, to the anti-discrimination council (CNCD) within one year, or to the court within 3 years.

What counts as workplace harassment in Romania?

Romanian law defines harassment in several places.

• Harassment as discrimination (Labour Code). Any behaviour based on a protected criterion such as citizenship, language, sex, age, disability, religion or union activity (art. 5(2)), whose purpose or effect is to harm a person’s dignity and to create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment (art. 5(5)). Every employee has the right to dignity at work (art. 39(1)(e)). Adverse treatment in reaction to a complaint or a court action is victimisation and is prohibited too (art. 5(7)).
• Moral harassment at work (OG 137/2000). Any behaviour towards an employee by a superior, a subordinate or a peer, connected with the employment relationship, whose purpose or effect is to deteriorate working conditions by harming the employee’s rights or dignity, physical or mental health, or professional future, through hostile or unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions or gestures (art. 2(5^1)). Systematic behaviour that harms dignity or integrity and degrades the work climate also counts, and stress and physical exhaustion are expressly included (art. 2(5^2)). No protected criterion is needed: a manager who humiliates everyone is still within the definition.
• Harassment based on sex (Law no. 202/2002). Unwanted behaviour related to a person’s sex that harms dignity and creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment (art. 4(c)); sexual harassment, meaning unwanted conduct with a sexual connotation, physical, verbal or non-verbal (art. 4(d)); and psychological harassment, meaning repeated or systematic improper conduct that may affect a person’s dignity or integrity (art. 4(d^1)). All three are prohibited in public and in private (art. 6(1^1)).
• Crimes (Criminal Code). Sexual harassment: repeatedly demanding sexual favours within a work relationship, where the victim was intimidated or humiliated (art. 223). Harassment: repeatedly following a person or watching their home or workplace, or calls and messages causing fear (art. 208). Both are prosecuted on the victim’s prior complaint.

What must my employer do?

The employer must take all measures necessary to prevent and combat moral harassment at work, including providing disciplinary sanctions for harassers in the internal regulation (OG 137/2000, art. 2(5^5)). It may not set rules or measures that oblige, push or encourage employees to harass (art. 2(5^6)). You have the right to a workplace free of moral harassment, and you may not be sanctioned, dismissed or discriminated against, including in pay, training, promotion or contract renewal, because you were subjected to harassment or refused it (art. 2(5^3)). Employees who harass are disciplinarily liable, without excluding their liability for fines or crimes (art. 2(5^4)).

The Labour Code backs this up: the internal regulation (regulament intern) must contain rules on non-discrimination and on removing any breach of dignity, and a procedure for handling employees’ individual complaints (art. 242(b) and (d)). Changing your working conditions or dismissing you because you complained is discrimination (Law no. 202/2002, art. 12) and a prohibited dismissal ground (Labour Code, art. 59).

Where can I complain?

1. Internal complaint. Put the facts in writing, dated, and file them under the procedure in the internal regulation (Labour Code, art. 242(d)). For sex-based harassment you may complain to the employer and ask the union or employee representatives for support (Law no. 202/2002, art. 30(1)). Keep a copy and proof of filing.
2. ITM Cluj. Labour inspectors check the employer’s compliance with the Labour Code: the internal regulation, the lawfulness of measures taken against you, your pay and other rights. ITM can sanction the employer; it cannot award you damages.
3. CNCD. File within one year (OG 137/2000, art. 20(1)). The Council can fine the harasser (art. 26(1^1)) and the employer (art. 26(1^2)), and order the employer to stop the harassment and pay for psychological counselling (art. 26(2^2)). An employer that ignores those measures faces a further fine (art. 26(2^3)).
4. Court. You may claim damages and the restoration of the situation directly, without going to CNCD first and with no court stamp duty (OG 137/2000, art. 27(1)), within 3 years (art. 27(2)). For sex-based discrimination at work the claim goes to the labour disputes section of the tribunal of your domicile or residence (Law no. 202/2002, art. 30(2)), in Cluj the Cluj Tribunal (Tribunalul Cluj). A dismissal or sanction linked to the harassment is challenged under the Labour Code within 45 or 30 calendar days; see contesting a dismissal and the disciplinary procedure page. Count the days with the court deadline calculator.
5. Criminal complaint. Sexual harassment (Criminal Code, art. 223) and stalking-type harassment (art. 208) are prosecuted only on the victim’s prior complaint (art. 223(2), art. 208(3)), for which the law sets a short term. Decide quickly.

Who has to prove what, and what can the court order?

You present facts from which harassment or discrimination can be presumed; the other party must then prove that equal treatment was respected (OG 137/2000, art. 27(4)). For moral harassment at work, you prove the factual elements and the burden of proof shifts to the employer; intent does not have to be proven (art. 2(5^7)). Any evidence is admissible, including audio and video recordings and statistical data (art. 27(4)).

When the court finds moral harassment at work it can, under art. 26(2^1): order the employer to take all measures to stop the harassment; order your reinstatement; order payment of the salary you were deprived of; award compensatory and moral damages; order the employer to pay for the psychological counselling you need, for a reasonable period set by the occupational physician; and order the correction of your disciplinary record.

What evidence should I keep?

• A dated log of incidents: what was said or done, where, who was present.
• Emails, chat messages, performance reviews and schedule changes that show the pattern.
• Your internal complaint and the employer’s answer, or the absence of one.
• Medical records, including sick leave and the occupational physician’s notes.
• Names of colleagues willing to confirm the facts.
• Decisions taken against you after you complained: sanctions, pay changes, relocation, dismissal.

I handle these cases for foreign employees in Cluj in English, from the internal complaint to the court. For the rest of my practice see the employment law page and the guide on foreign workers’ rights. If the situation is ongoing, contact me now, not after the deadline.

Consolidated text of the ordinance: OG nr. 137/2000 privind prevenirea și sancționarea tuturor formelor de discriminare (legislatie.just.ro).