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IMPACT – LOW
What is the change? Romania has increased its average gross monthly salary for foreign workers.
What does the change mean? The average gross monthly salary has been increased to 2,681 Romanian leu, or RON (approximately €600), up from 2,415 RON in 2015.
Background: Employers must meet the average gross monthly salary of 2,681 RON for permanent workers or assignees. EU Blue Card salaries must equal four times the average gross monthly salary, or 10,724 RON (about €2,400) per month.
BAL Analysis: Employers should make sure employment contracts and secondment letters reflect the new salary rates.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Romania. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.
Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
IMPACT – MEDIUM
What is the change? Under recent changes, companies must prove they have a record that is clean of criminal penalties and certain labor sanctions before applying for work approvals.
What does the change mean? Companies are required to obtain a criminal record certificate from relevant government offices before filing work permit applications, and even minor sanctions may be grounds for denial of a work approval.
Background: The law imposes a prerequisite on employers applying for work approvals to provide their criminal record and background checks for certain labor law violations in the prior three years.
The criminal record will indicate if an employer has been sanctioned or convicted for intentional criminal deeds against a person or for criminal deeds under the Labor Code, such as hiring more than five workers without an employment contract. Extended background checks with the labor authorities will also verify whether an employer has observed the obligation to register all employment contracts with the General Registry of Employees no later than one working day before an employee’s start date. While hiring fewer than six workers without an employment contract is considered a minor civil violation and may not appear on the criminal record certificate, labor authorities will communicate such an infraction to immigration officials upon analysis of the work-approval application.
As in the past, employers must also submit documentation that their fiscal records are in order, with no outstanding payments due for social benefits such as unemployment, social security and pensions.
BAL Analysis: Employers should be aware of the added documentation and scrutiny and make sure to timely register all labor contracts no later than one working day before the contract start date, as immigration authorities are now more likely to check with the Labor Inspectorate for any labor violations, even if they are minor offenses.
What is the change? The number of available work permits in Romania for non-EU/EEA and non-Swiss nationals will remain set at 5,500 this year, the same as 2014.
What does the change mean? Neither the overall cap nor the caps on high-skilled workers and assignees will change compared with last year, though Romanian officials made small adjustments in other categories.
Background: The Romanian government’s 2015 quotas were published in the Official Gazette of Romania with the following breakdown:
The biggest change is in the local hire/permanent category, which rose by 300 compared with last year because a stand-alone category for athletes was eliminated and combined with this category. Quotas for seasonal workers rose by 100. This reorganization does not affect the number of permits available for EU Blue Cards or for assignees from non-Romanian employers.
BAL Analysis: Employers will not see major changes to quotas compared with last year and can plan recruitment strategies similar to last year.
What is the change? A new work permit adjudication system called the “Approval Scheme” will go into effect Nov. 28.
What does the change mean? The new scheme imposes an additional labor market testing requirement on employers applying for work permits for non-EU nationals. It also requires employers to have additional pre-requisite work permit documentation, including criminal clearance certificates for the employer. The implementation of the new system could also cause administrative delays.
Background: Employers would still be required to submit an employment approval application to the General Inspectorate for Immigration through their representatives under the new scheme. The new approval application will include an additional labor market testing requirement, namely placement of at least three advertisements in a widely read publication. Approval will only be available to employers who have paid taxes for the previous quarter, who do not have Labor Code or criminal convictions, and who have not been hit with employment-related sanctions in the previous three years.
Once the approval is granted, the employee can apply for a work visa and, eventually, a residence permit. Employers who do not comply with the new requirements or allow foreigners to work without relevant documentation, such as an employment contract, could face fines ranging from €150 to €4500. They could also face closure of their workplace or denial of state-provided subsidies for more serious violations. While intracompany transferees (along with highly skilled EU Blue Card workers, professional athletes and cross-border workers) will be exempt from the labor market testing requirements, intracompany transferees will require secondment approval during the initial stage of the relocation process.
BAL Analysis: The new scheme will impose an additional labor market testing requirement on employers applying for work permits for non-EU nationals. Companies should take care to follow the new rules in order to avoid stiff penalties. Pending applications must be amended with additional documents in accord with the new rules. Employers should also anticipate the possibility of administrative delays, particularly as the new scheme is put into place.