Working Hours and Overtime in Romania

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Romania?

An employee whose age is 18 or younger has a maximum of 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week. An employee whose age is 18 or older is allowed to work 40 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 15 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 6 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 9:00 to 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Romania

Under Romanian law, the standard working time for adults is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, calculated over a five-day workweek. The average working time, including overtime, must not exceed 48 hours per week over a reference period, which is usually 4 months but may be extended to 6 months by collective agreement. You must structure schedules so that this 48-hour average cap is respected across the chosen reference period.

Working time arrangements can be organized unevenly across days and weeks, provided that the average weekly duration remains within the 40-hour standard and the 48-hour maximum including overtime. Any change to normal working hours should be documented in the employment contract or an addendum and communicated in advance. Employers are required to keep accurate time records for each employee to demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules that allow for longer shifts or irregular patterns. In these cases, you must still ensure that the average weekly working time, including overtime, does not exceed 48 hours over the applicable reference period. Collective agreements or internal regulations often detail how shifts are organized and how rest periods are granted in these industries.

• Healthcare professionals may work 12-hour shifts with extended rest periods.
• Transport workers must comply with EU-aligned rest and driving limits.
• Manufacturing and security staff often rotate through night or weekend shifts.

Even in these sectors, you must ensure the average weekly limit is respected over a reference period. You should also monitor fatigue risks and ensure that daily and weekly rest rules are not undermined by compressed or rotating schedules. Written shift rosters and clear policies help demonstrate that you are managing these exceptions lawfully.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Romanian law allows certain managerial employees and employees in positions of trust to have more flexible working time arrangements, but they are not fully exempt from working time protections. Their contracts should clearly describe the nature of their role, the expected working pattern, and how availability outside normal hours is handled. Even for managers, you must respect health and safety principles and avoid systematically exceeding the 48-hour average weekly limit including overtime.

Some senior managers may receive a higher fixed salary that is deemed to cover a reasonable amount of additional hours, but this does not remove your obligation to comply with maximum working time and rest rules. Where managers are entitled to overtime or time off in lieu, the conditions should be explicitly set out in the employment contract or internal regulations. Transparent documentation reduces the risk of later disputes over unpaid hours.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Romania

Statutory full-time work in Romania is defined as 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week for adult employees. You may agree on a shorter working schedule, such as 6 or 7 hours per day, which will still be considered full-time if the contract specifies it as such. Any schedule that regularly exceeds 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week must be treated as involving overtime and compensated accordingly.

Part-time work is any schedule shorter than the normal full-time hours, and it must be clearly indicated in the employment contract along with the distribution of hours. Part-time employees cannot be treated less favorably than comparable full-time employees solely because of their reduced hours. When adjusting working hours, always update contracts and internal regulations to reflect the agreed pattern.

Overtime Regulations In Romania

Overtime in Romania is tightly regulated, and you must obtain employee consent in most cases and keep precise records of all extra hours worked. Labour inspectors can request timesheets and payroll data to verify that overtime limits and premium payments have been respected. Failure to manage overtime correctly exposes your company to administrative fines, back-pay claims, and potential litigation.

What Counts As Overtime In Romania?

Overtime in Romania is generally any working time performed beyond the normal 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week for full-time employees. Work performed on weekly rest days, typically Sunday, or on public holidays is also treated as overtime and attracts specific compensation rules. You should define normal working hours and overtime triggers clearly in contracts and internal regulations so that both managers and employees understand when overtime begins.

Overtime must usually be agreed in advance with the employee, except in cases of force majeure or urgent work to prevent accidents or damage. For part-time employees, hours worked beyond their contractual schedule but not exceeding 8 hours per day are typically treated as additional hours, while hours beyond 8 per day or 40 per week are treated as overtime. You must record all such hours accurately to ensure correct pay or time off in lieu.

Maximum Overtime In Romania

Romanian law requires that the average working time, including overtime, must not exceed 48 hours per week over a reference period, which is usually 4 months and can be extended up to 6 months by collective agreement. In practice, this means that overtime is capped so that total hours do not exceed an average of 48 hours per week, equivalent to an average of 8 hours of overtime per week above the 40-hour standard. Many employers also apply an internal annual cap, such as 360 hours of overtime per year, to stay comfortably within legal limits and manage fatigue.

Overtime for minors under 18 is strictly prohibited, so their weekly hours cannot exceed 30 and no additional hours may be added. For adult employees, you should monitor overtime at least monthly to ensure that peaks in workload are balanced by lighter periods within the reference window. If you anticipate sustained high overtime, consider hiring additional staff or reorganizing shifts rather than relying on employees to work close to the 48-hour average limit.

Overtime Payout Rates In Romania

In Romania, overtime must be compensated either by paid time off in lieu or by a wage premium of at least 75% above the normal hourly rate, meaning a minimum of 1.75x pay for overtime hours. If you grant time off in lieu, it must be at least equal to the overtime worked and generally provided within 60 days of the overtime being performed. Your internal regulations or collective agreement may provide higher premiums, such as 100% (2.0x) for certain categories of overtime, but you cannot go below the 75% statutory minimum.

Work performed on weekly rest days or public holidays typically attracts higher premiums, often at least 100% above the normal rate, meaning 2.0x pay, in addition to granting a substitute rest day. Night overtime can also be combined with night work premiums, so an employee might receive both the 25% night premium and the 75% overtime premium, resulting in a total of at least 2.0x the base hourly rate. You should clearly specify all applicable percentages in contracts, policies, and payroll systems to avoid underpayment.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Romania

In Romania, employees typically work 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods are designed to protect health and safety within this framework. Daily and weekly rest rules ensure that employees have sufficient time away from work between shifts and across the week. Meal and short rest breaks must be integrated into the working day when these standard hours are reached or exceeded.

• Meal Break: Employees who work more than 6 hours per day are entitled to a meal break, which is commonly at least 15 minutes and may be longer under collective agreements. This break may or may not be counted as working time depending on whether the employee is required to remain at the workstation.
• Daily Rest: Adult employees must receive a minimum uninterrupted daily rest period of 12 consecutive hours between two working days. In certain sectors with shift work, this rest can be reduced, but compensatory rest must be granted.
• Weekly Rest: Employees are entitled to at least 48 consecutive hours of weekly rest, typically on Saturday and Sunday. If business needs require work on these days, you must provide substitute rest days and applicable overtime premiums.
• Minors: Employees under 18 benefit from enhanced protection, including a minimum daily rest of 12 consecutive hours and a weekly rest of at least 48 consecutive hours. They also receive longer breaks during the working day when their shift exceeds 4.5 hours.
• Employer Duty: Employers must schedule and monitor breaks and rest periods, ensuring they are actually taken and properly recorded. Failure to provide statutory rest can lead to fines and orders from labour inspectors to adjust schedules and compensate affected employees.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Romania

Night and weekend work are legal in Romania but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay specific premiums, monitor health and safety risks, and ensure that rest periods are not undermined by irregular schedules. Proper documentation of night and weekend hours is essential to demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Night work in Romania is generally defined as work performed between 22:00 and 6:00, and an employee is considered a night worker if they perform at least 3 hours of their daily working time or at least 30% of their monthly working time during this interval. This definition applies across most roles, although some sectors may have additional rules or collective agreement provisions. You must identify night workers formally so that the correct protections and premiums are applied.

• Premium Pay: Night workers in Romania are entitled to a night work premium of at least 25% of the basic hourly wage for each hour worked between 22:00 and 6:00, meaning a minimum of 1.25x pay for those hours. Alternatively, you may grant equivalent compensatory time off, but the value must not be less than the 25% premium.
• Health Monitoring: Regular night workers must be offered free medical examinations before assignment and periodically thereafter to assess fitness for night work. If a doctor finds that night work is harming an employee’s health, you must, where possible, transfer them to a suitable day role.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors under 18 are prohibited from night work, and pregnant or breastfeeding employees must not be required to work night shifts if a medical certificate indicates risk. In such cases, you must adjust schedules or reassign duties without reducing basic pay.

Weekend work, particularly on Sunday, is generally treated as work performed on the weekly rest day and is allowed only with justification related to the nature of the activity or continuous operations. When employees work on their weekly rest day, you must grant a substitute rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours and typically pay an overtime premium of at least 100% above the normal rate, meaning 2.0x pay for those hours. Public holiday work is also compensated with at least 100% premium pay in addition to a substitute rest day, unless a collective agreement grants an even higher rate.