EXCLUSIVE: Amended Romanian Labor Code Keeps 48-Hour Workweek

„The legal maximum period of working time cannot exceed 48 hours per week, including overtime. In exceptional cases, the workweek, including overtime, can be extended past 48 hours per week, as long as the average number of working hours, in a four-month reference period, does not exceed 48 hours per week,” says the draft.

The current Labor Code says the reference period is three months. Reference periods longer than four months, but no longer than six, can be negotiated through the collective labor contract for certain activities or professions.

The standard number of hours for night-time employees working under special circumstances will not exceed eight for every 24, unless such an increase is provided by the collective labor contract and does not breach the provisions stipulated by a higher labor contract. If that is the case, the employer is required to give the employees time off or provide financial compensation for the excess hours.

Night-time employees receive a bonus to their base salary of at least 15% per every hour of work put in at night.