Romania

[Updated 3/27/23] Mandatory employee benefits in Romania include a three-pillar pension system, paid time off, disability (sick leave), maternity, paternity, and parental leaves. Supplementary employee benefits in Romania include retirement, medical insurance, life, and disability insurance, and business travel insurance. Common employee perks range from meal vouchers to company cars, mobile phones, and increased vacation days.

Asinta Partner
Natalia Zaborovska

GrECo Group

More Info

Romanians care about healthcare benefits the most because they are more comprehensive than what the state offers, and private clinics are preferred.

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Romania

Pension

For the time being, there are three pension schemes in place in Romania:

  1. Pillar 1 = mandatory contributions to the Public Pensions System (21,25% for employees, as of 1/1/18). For normal working conditions, the employer contribution is 0%. The employer would be required to contribute 4% or 8% for difficult working conditions, depending on the conditions.
  2. Pillar 2 = mandatory contribution to Private Pension Funds (3,75% for Employees, as of Jan 1st,2018)
  3. Pillar 3 = concerns the contribution to Voluntary Private Pension Funds. Contribution is optional (more details under supplementary employee benefits below).

Pillar 1 and 2 pension contributions are paid by employers to the state and are not something Romanian citizens usually contribute directly. Instead, employers deduct these contributions from salary and pay them monthly. Income tax is calculated after deducting social contributions from gross salary.

Pension income can start as early as age 60. Individuals who have completed a minimum contribution period of at least 15 years are eligible for pension benefits. The complete period is 35 years for men and women.

The normal retirement age is 65 for men and 62 for women.

For Pillar 1 pensions, the current pension point value is 1.785 RON. The benefit results from multiplying the average lifetime-accumulated number of pension points (average rating) by the pension point value.

The Pillar 2 private fund option belongs to the employee, and the employer still makes the payment. Participation in the Pillar 2 pension is compulsory for all employees below age 35 who are insured for the first time or are contributing to the public fund. It is optional for employees up to age 45 to contribute to the public retirement fund.

Death and long-term disability benefits apply as part of social security for all contributing employees. In the case of death, the benefit is payable to the surviving spouse, tutor, or child. The contribution is in the retirement contribution.

Public System Healthcare

According to Law 95/2006, all citizens with residence in Romania, and all foreign citizens and stateless persons with residence in Romania, must participate in, and contribute to, the public health system.  Exceptions apply for the following:

  • Children under age 18 and persons under age 26 attending school and do not have income from work
  • Disabled people without employment income
  • People persecuted by the former communist regime, deported persons, war veterans, and also those who have special rights established by law
  • Retired insured persons who have revenues under the income tax limit
  • Pregnant women and women after childbirth who do not have income from work or have an income lower than the minimum gross national salary
  • Members of a family entitled to social help
  • Individuals receiving unemployment indemnity
  • Individuals on medical leave for temporary disability due to a work accident or a professional disease
  • Parents on leave, raising a child to age 2 or age 3 for children with a handicap

All insured individuals have rights to ambulatory medical services, hospital care, intensive care, dental services, urgent medical services, prescription drugs, preventative, rehabilitation, prenatal and postnatal assistance, treatment in balneary resorts, plastic and reparatory surgery, and physiotherapy services.

Husbands, wives, and parents without their income and in the care of the insured person are eligible to be added as dependents.

The contribution is 10% of the gross salary for employees.

Paid Time Off

  • Annual Leave – 20 days is the minimum holiday guaranteed by law per year, pro-rated with the worked period.
  • Public Holidays – there are 15 public holidays.

Sick Days/ Short-Term Disability Benefit

Sick leave is only paid if the employee has a minimum contributory period to the Health House for the prior six months, based on a medical certificate issued by a physician.

The employer pays the first 5 calendar days. From the 6th day, the National Health Fund supports the medical allowance. In practice, the employer is also paying the amount supported by the National Health Fund and then requests reimbursement from the Health House.

The payment percentage in case of the sick leave allowance ranges between 75% and 100% of the calculation base (average of the employee’s monthly gross wages during the last 6 months before the month the medical leave is granted).

The benefit is payable up to 180 days; if the disability is prolonged, a long-term disability pension is proposed.

The contribution to social security is 2.25% of gross salary, with no ceiling.

Maternity Leave

Maternity leave is 126 calendar days (usually 63 days before + 63 days after the child’s birth). It represents 85% of the calculation base (the average of the employee’s monthly gross wages during her last 6 months before the month the maternity leave started). The maternity leave is granted based on the medical certificate issued by the physician.

Insured individuals can also take medical leave days each year as follows:

  • 45 days to care for their sick children up to age 7 or disabled children up to age 18.
  • Up to 90 days to care for children with contagious diseases or paralysis.

The National Health Fund grants the maternity allowance (in practice, the employer pays the maternity leave, and afterward, he requests reimbursement from the Health House).

Paternity Leave

Fathers are entitled to 10 days of paid paternity leave which can be used until the child reaches the age of 8 weeks. If the father chooses to participate in childcare courses, leave can be extended for 5 days for each child.

Parental Leave

Parental leave entitlement last until the child is 2 years old. In the case of a disabled child, leave is until the child is 3 years of age. The state institution makes the payment directly and represents 85% of the employee’s average revenues during his last 12 months of activity. During this period, the employment contract is suspended.

During this period, the company can hire another employee for the same position, but only on a temporary contract, and cannot terminate the parent employee.

Other Leaves

  • Bereavement Leave­ – 2 days of unpaid leave are granted to an employee who has had a death within their immediate family.
  • Marriage leaves – 5 days for an employee’s marriage and 2 days for the marriage of a child.
  • Blood donation leave — 1 day of paid leave is granted.
  • Caregiver’s leave – 5 working days within a calendar year to provide personal care or support to a relative or a person living in the same household as the employee who needs significant care or support due to a serious medical condition. This leave is granted in addition to the classic care leave (sick childcare and adult cancer care leave – the latter being recently introduced).
  • The right to be absent from work in case of family emergencies for a maximum of 10 working days/year, subject to prior notification to the employer and with the recovery of the period of absence. The employer and the employee establish by mutual agreement how to recover the absence period.

Workers’ Compensation/Work Accidents/Professional Diseases

In Romania, the state still handles the whole system through funds collected monthly from employers and employees. According to Law 346 / 2002, the Public System grants the following compensations in case of work accidents and/or professional diseases:

  • Indemnity for temporary or permanent disability
  • Death following a work accident
  • Indemnity for loss of body integrity
  • Indemnity for a temporary change of the current job due to work accidents/ professional disease

For personal accidents and professional diseases, facultative insurance products are available in addition to the benefits offered by the state system.

No workmen’s compensation facultative insurance product is in place due to the lack of legislation in this field.

Premium related to Personal Accidents Insurance is not tax-free from a fiscal point of view. Still, the indemnities received following Personal Accidents claims are tax-free and independent from any other compensation given by the state.

Child Allowance

Parents have a right to a child allowance, payable until age 18. If a child is disabled or continues to attend school in a state-recognized education program, benefits can be payable to age 26. The state child allowance is not taxable. Its monthly value as of Feb 1st, 2022, is:

  • RON 277 for children ages 2 to 18
  • RON 683 for each child up to age 2 (or up to age 18, if disabled).

State budget allocations fund these child allowances.

 

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Romania

Pension

Pillar 3 concerns the contribution to Voluntary Private Pension Funds. Contribution is optional (minimum €10/person/month, maximum 15% of gross). The plan is defined contribution (DC).

Once the contribution plan is set up with the pension fund, with the employer, the pension fund opens a personal account for every employee so that the individual can have full access to their net asset balance and the evolution of its funds over the years. As soon as the enrollment is done, the financial flow runs automatically, and the monthly contributions are accumulated into the employee’s personal account.

For private pension plans, which are still not widely implemented, the contributions are split between the employee and the company, with the company usually paying 50% to 100% of the contribution.

The right to voluntary pension opens at the request of the participant, subject to the following cumulative conditions:

  • The participant has reached the age of 60.
  • At least 90 monthly contributions have been paid.
  • The personal asset is at least equal to the amount required to obtain the minimum voluntary pension provided by the rules adopted by the commission.

As of 2020, there are 10 pension funds available on the local market applicable for Pillar 3 pensions. The plan structure is strictly regulated by law.

For Pillar 3 Pensions, the contribution is considered tax-free for the employer up to the limit of €400 per year/ per person and for the employee up to the limit of €400 per year/per person.

Private Medical Insurance

This is highly recommended and is one of the most popular benefits for employees, mainly due to the inadequacy of the public system. Employers usually cover all employees and have the option to extend to family members (spouse/children; for larger groups, they can also be extended for partners or parents/siblings). The employee usually funds family extensions, with exceptions in highly competitive industries such as IT.

This coverage can include outpatient coverage (consults with GP or specialists, lab tests or investigations, high tech imaging), inpatient coverage (room & board, medication/treatment during stay in hospital, surgery + consumables and accessories used in the surgery room), road ambulance/emergency room, medical recovery, maternity (pregnancy monitoring, birth), dental, vision, cancer, and critical illness extensions.

Direct subscription to clinics is also a popular complementary or even alternate option to a medical insurance plan, with more focus on prevention services, but usually without access to hospitalization or surgical interventions. By comparison, medical insurance usually offers more comprehensive coverage, such as complex investigations, hospitalization, and birth. Additionally, medical insurance offers access to any private medical facility in Romania with direct settlement or reimbursement for out-of-network services.

The contribution for medical insurance is considered tax-free for the employer up to the limit of €400 per year per person and the employee up to the limit of €400 per year per person.

Business Travel Insurance

The employer usually funds this insurance only for employee business travel. Coverage usually includes medical expenses incurred during trips abroad following accidents, sudden illness and emergencies, and dental care subject to certain sub-limits (emergency). Coverage also extends to additional costs with relatives who assist the victim, repatriation, luggage insurance, and personal liability.

Group Life and Disability Insurance

This is usually fully funded by the employer for all employees. The primary coverage available is death by any cause (illness, accidents), and it is customary to cover 1-2x annual salary or a lump sum insured for the entire group.

Customary riders:

  • Permanent total or partial disability (illness, accidents) – customary to cover % of the same sum insured as death coverage.

Other available riders:

  • Indemnity for critical illness
  • Daily cash benefit for temporary disability (days of hospitalization and/or ambulatory plus days of
  • convalescence)
  • Daily cash benefits for medical expenses up to different sub-limits
  • Indemnity for surgical intervention expenses up to different sub-limits
  • Indemnity for broken bones (following accidents)
  • Indemnity for burns (following accidents)

The insurance premium bears the tax on income and social contribution as on any other type of employee benefit. Insurance indemnities are tax-free.

 

Employee Perks in Romania

Other benefits available for employees can include the following:

  • Meal vouchers
  • Gift vouchers (for Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, and Children’s Day)
  • Performance bonus, holiday bonus
  • Gym membership
  • Work-from-home or Flexible hours programs
  • Transportation benefits – company bus, public transport allowances, bike allowances, fuel allowance, parking space, etc.
  • Workplace canteens
  • Professional training and certification programs, participation in conferences and seminars
  • Company car – typically for sales positions, management positions, executives
  • Mobile phones and calls are covered fully by the employer
  • Company laptop
  • Increased annual leave days
  • Discounts on company products, if applicable

Less common perks include:

  • Flex benefits
  • Relocation allowances, rent – usually top management only
  • Savings plan or financial wellness
  • Employee loans
  • On-site daycare
  • On-site wellness programs
  • Health coaching
  • Personal development training and coaching
  • On-site or online books and libraries
  • On-site relaxation or game areas

 

This information about mandatory and supplemental employee benefits in Romania comes from Asinta’s Central and Eastern European Partner, the GrECo Group.

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