In the event of a temporary reduction in a company’s activity caused by the declaration of the state of emergency/alert/siege, employers may reduce the amount of time their employees work by up to 50% of the amount stipulated in their individual employment contracts.
During this period, affected employees, in addition to the salary rights associated with the actual time worked, will receive an indemnity payment equal to 75% of the difference between the amount of gross basic salary stipulated in the individual employment contract and the amount of gross salary corresponding to the number of hours actually worked as a result of the worktime reduction measure.
The aforementioned indemnity is to be paid first by the employer and then reclaimed from the unemployment insurance budget. The procedure for reclaiming these amounts, as well as the period of application of these facilities, is to be established by Government decision.
Notes:
- the working time reduction measure is established by decision of the employer and is for a period of at least 5 consecutive working days; it must be communicated to the employees and registered with the General Registry of Employees
- the measure cannot be cumulated with other measures established by the Labour Code with a view to reducing working time, and during application of the measure the employer cannot initiate collective dismissals
- during a period of reduced working time, affected employees are not allowed to perform overtime
- during a period of reduced working time, companies are forbidden from hiring staff to perform activities identical or similar to those performed by employees whose working time has been reduced; the subcontracting of activities carried out by these employees is similarly forbidden
- the indemnity payment granted for the period of reduced working time constitutes salary income and is subject to income tax and social contributions, including the employment insurance contribution
- the indemnity payment cannot be cumulated with other types of fiscal facilities granted to employers for their employees in the context of the epidemiological situation
- the carrying out of work by employees, including through teleworking or homeworking, outside of the established working schedule (as well as outside of the reduced working schedule), constitutes an offence punishable by a fine to the employer of Lei 20,000 for each such case identified, up to a total amount of RON 200,000.
Cumulative conditions that must be met in order to receive the indemnity payment:
- a) the measure to reduce working time affects at least 10% of the company’s employees
- b) the reduction in company activity is justified by a decrease in turnover for the month prior to application of the measure, or for the month preceding the month prior to application of the measure, of at least 10% compared with the same month the previous year.
Source: Emergency Ordinance no. 132/2020 on the support measures for employees and employers in the context of the epidemiological situation caused by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus as well as the stimulation of employment growth, as published in the Official Gazette no. 720 on 10 August 2020.
