This Emergency Ordinance (OUG) establishes a new regulatory framework for the employment of foreign workers in Romania, focusing on protecting worker rights, preventing illegal migration, and managing a severe labor shortage.
The following are the main points of the document:
- Purpose and Context
- Labor Shortage: Romania faces a qualified labor shortage, leading to a constant demand for workers from third-party states.
- Regulatory Gaps: Previously, a lack of clear laws allowed unauthorized entities to mislead workers, charge illegal fees, and facilitate illegal migration.
- Worker Protection: The law aims to prevent human trafficking and exploitation while ensuring that foreign workers have the same rights as Romanian citizens.
- Digital Platform: “WorkinRomania.Gov.ro”
- The Ministry of Internal Affairs is creating a central electronic platform to manage the recruitment process.
- Mandatory Use: All employers hiring foreign workers and all placement agencies must register and use this platform to process single permit applications and track documentation.
- Requirements for Employers
- Eligibility: Employers must have no outstanding tax debts and must have been active for at least one year in a sector with a labor shortage.
- Integrity Checks: Representatives and administrators must have no criminal record related to labor exploitation, human trafficking, or sexual offenses.
- Hiring Limits: The number of foreign workers an employer can hire is generally limited to the average number of employees they had the previous year.
- Language Requirements: Employment contracts must be provided in Romanian and a language the worker understands (either their native tongue or an international language).
- Regulation of Placement Agencies
- Authorization: Agencies must be authorized by the National Agency for Employment (ANOFM) and can only place workers for roles on the “List of Deficient Occupations”.
- Financial Guarantee: To ensure accountability, agencies must maintain a financial deposit or bank guarantee of €75,000 for every 250 workers placed.
- Strict Prohibitions: Agencies are forbidden from charging recruitment fees directly to the foreign workers.
- Worker Rights and Quotas
- Equal Treatment: Foreign workers must receive equal pay, working conditions, and health/safety protections as Romanian workers in the same positions.
- Annual Quota: The Romanian government will establish a yearly quota (contingent) for new foreign workers allowed to enter the labor market.
- Information Rights: Workers must be informed of their rights and the procedures for filing complaints regarding exploitation.
- Penalties and Enforcement
- Significant fines (ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 RON) are established for hiring foreign workers with illegal stay status, failing to provide proper lodging for seasonal workers, or violating placement regulations.
- Placement agencies can have their licenses suspended or revoked if they do not meet the legal requirements or if they fail to maintain the necessary financial guarantees.
