Last updated: 4 March 2015
2015 begins with a first important change in labour law, namely the increase of the minimum wage to 975 Lei (approximately 220 Euros). This measure was introduced by Government Decision no. 1091/2014, presented to you in our article of December 18, 2014. Taking into account several important rulings of the European Court of Justice on the right to paid leave following the application of Directive no. 2003/88/EEC, the Romanian Parliament recently passed Law no. 12/2015 (published in the Official Journal no. 52 of January 22, 2015). This Law provides several solutions (in terms of jurisprudence and doctrine) related to issues such as seniority at work, as well some important changes regarding paid leave. These changes are presented to you briefly hereinafter.
SENIORITY AT WORK
As regards seniority at work, from now on, the Labour Code expressly provides that an employee’s unjustified absences, as well as unpaid leaves (except for unpaid leaves granted for the employee’s professional training) are not taken into account when calculating seniority at work. This solution already existed in doctrine and jurisprudence before the entry into force of Law no. 12/2005, but it was not provided by the Labour Code.
CHANGES RELATED TO PAID LEAVE
As mentioned before, Law no. 12/2015 introduces several changes regarding paid leave.
Thus, in accordance with the former regulations, the duration of paid leave was proportional to the time worked for the employer during the year. From now on, article 145 of the Labour Code provides that the actual duration of paid leave is
stipulated in the individual labour contract, in accordance with the law and the applicable collective agreements, the former provision being thus eliminated.
Moreover, from now on, periods of temporary disability and those during which the employee was on maternity leave, a maternity risk leave or a medical leave for the care of a sick child are deemed active periods and therefore are taken into account when calculating paid leave
Given the rulings of the European Court of Justice, according to which Directive no. 2003/88/EEC does not distinguish between workers who were on medical leave and those who worked during the same period when calculating paid leave, Law no. 12/2015 provides that the employee can take paid leave although he was on medical leave for the entire duration of a year. In such cases, employers have to grant paid leave no later than 18 months from the end of the year when the right to paid leave was activated.
If temporary disability, the maternity risk leave or the medical leave for the care of a sick child occur during the paid leave, such leave is interrupted and the employee can take the remaining paid leave days after the end of the situation causing the
interruption of paid leave.
As regards paid leave not taken by the employee during a year, the former regulations provided that the employer had to grant them until the end of the following year (thus, paid leave days were carried forward to the new paid leave period). From now on, article 146 of the Labour Law provides that the employer has to grant non-taken paid leave days within 18 months from the year subsequent to the year granting right to paid leave.