Employer of Record in Romania

You can use an employer of record in Romania through an authorized temporary-work agency that employs and supplies the worker for a precise temporary assignment under your supervision, initially limited to 24 months.

You retain responsibility for working conditions and may have to cover the agency’s unpaid salary, tax and contribution obligations when the statutory payment conditions are met.

Eligible foreign employers can also consider direct employment without a Romanian headquarters, permanent establishment or representation, subject to social-security coordination and the applicable reporting arrangements.

Where work is genuinely independent, 4dev.com is a contractor platform working with contractors in Romania. Its Contractor Platform uses one platform agreement for services rather than staff employment, verifies contractor documents and stores contracts and closing documents together.

What an employer of record is

An employer of record is the legal employer that signs the employee’s employment contract and administers applicable employer obligations while you direct the employee’s work.

In the Romanian agency framework, the agent de muncă temporară (temporary-work agency) signs a contract individual de muncă (individual employment contract, or CIM) with the employee.

As the utilizator (user undertaking/client), you supervise the assignment and must promptly tell the agency about any work accident or occupational disease affecting the supplied worker.

The agency pays salary, withholds and remits employee taxes and contributions, and pays employer contributions. The worker has an employment relationship with the agency; independent contracting requires a separate assessment.

Ask which legal person will sign the CIM as employer. A recruiter that only finds candidates or an administrator that only processes payroll does not establish the agency employment relationship.

Check the proposed contracts and actual supervision against the agency rules. The EOR label alone does not establish an authorized agency arrangement.

How an EOR arrangement qualifies under Romanian law

An EOR arrangement in which the provider employs a worker and supplies them under your supervision falls within Romania’s temporary-agency framework, which requires an authorized employing legal person.

The assignment must cover a precise task of a temporary character. Identify the task, intended duration and actual reporting line before assessing whether this route fits the job.

The relevant authorization is for temporary-work agency activity under Government Decision 1256/2011 and the Labour Code. An EOR service name provides no evidence that the employing legal person holds that authorization.

The assigned worker’s salary cannot fall below what your employee receives for the same or similar work. If you have no comparable employee, use the benchmark in the collective agreement applicable to you.

Establish the pay comparator before accepting a minimum-salary budget. Give the assigned worker access to your services and facilities on the same terms as your employees.

Even with an authorized agency, you cannot replace an employee whose employment contract is suspended because they are participating in a strike.

An indefinite employment contract with the agency does not make the client assignment indefinite. Review mission duration and employment exit separately when planning the end of the arrangement.

Apply the general contract, working-time and employee-entitlement rules in Hiring in Romania alongside these agency conditions.

The provider licence, and how to check it

Check the current temporary-work agency authorization of the legal person signing the employment contract, including its validity and any withdrawal or surrender, before accepting the provider.

The authorization requirement applies to the employer supplying temporary workers under the user’s supervision. Multilaw’s Romanian How to Hire and Fire chapter, published in 2026, explains the requirement:

For performing this kind of services, the employer must obtain a specific licence as provided under the provisions of the Labour Code.

— Șerban Pâslaru, Partner, Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații, named contributing author of the Romanian Multilaw chapter

Match the licence to the legal employer

The ministry’s national register of authorized temporary-work agencies also records withdrawn and surrendered authorizations. Read an entry together with its current status; a CUI alone does not prove agency authorization.

Check the entity signing the employment contract, whether the provider’s own Romanian agency or its identified local partner:

• Obtain its legal name and CUI (unique fiscal registration code).
• Match that entity to the authorization’s series and number.
• Identify the issuing authority.
• Check the issue date, subsequent renewal and current expiry date.
• Establish whether the authorization has been withdrawn or surrendered.

Access to a current official downloadable agency register is unconfirmed. Obtain the agency’s current authorization and ask the issuing authority or competent ministry office to confirm its status.

Authorization and renewal deadlines

Authorization depends on the agency’s activity, fiscal standing and financial security. The application, renewal and publication deadlines govern its permission to operate; they do not measure employee onboarding time.

Principal activity	Temporary staffing must be the legal person’s principal activity	Government Decision 1256/2011
Public-budget debts	No arrears to the state or local budgets	Government Decision 1256/2011
Fiscal record	No specified financial, customs or financial-discipline offences in the fiscal record	Government Decision 1256/2011
Relevant contraventions	No relevant labour, commercial or fiscal contravention penalties in the preceding 24 months; court-challenged contraventions are considered only if a final judgment exists by the authorization decision	Government Decision 1256/2011
Financial security	Constitute the legally required agency financial guarantee	Government Decision 1256/2011
Authorization decision	Within 30 days of the application’s registration	Government Decision 1256/2011
Incomplete authorization documents	7 working days to complete the documents; the decision deadline extends correspondingly	Government Decision 1256/2011
Authorization validity and renewal	Valid for 2 years; may be renewed for successive 2-year periods	Government Decision 1256/2011
Renewal application	At least 3 months before expiry	Government Decision 1256/2011
Entry in the national agency register	Within 15 calendar days after authorization	Government Decision 1256/2011
Register publication	Quarterly publication in the Official Gazette, Part IV, and display on the ministry’s website	Government Decision 1256/2011

A renewal application does not establish the renewal outcome. Obtain the current authorization and its expiry date before relying on the agency for your assignment.

Who signs what and who directs the work

The agency signs an employment contract with the worker and a separate written supply agreement with you; each document must identify the assignment and its required terms.

Check both documents against the Labour Code’s supply and employment requirements. Supervising the assignment does not universally require an additional employment contract between you and the worker.

Party	Signs with	Document and required terms	Ongoing responsibility
You, the client/user	Temporary-work agency	Written supply agreement: precise temporary task and mission duration; job and qualifications; work location and schedule; working conditions; protective and work equipment; services and facilities; agency service fee and worker remuneration; conditions for refusing a supplied worker	Direct the work; ensure working conditions; promptly notify the agency of work accidents or occupational diseases; provide equivalent facilities and the applicable pay comparator
Temporary-work agency	Employee	Written Romanian employment/mission contract: mission conditions and duration; user identity and headquarters; remuneration amount and payment method; applicable employment terms and limits; concluded by the day before work starts	Pay salary, withhold and remit employee taxes and contributions, and pay employer contributions; retain responsibility for required employment records
Employee	Temporary-work agency	The employment contract and any express telework clause or addendum agreed with the agency	Work under the user’s supervision during the mission; participate in agreed telework terms, including hours, safety and data-protection obligations

The agency must ensure the required employment details reach REGES-ONLINE by the day before work begins. Delegating data entry to another operator leaves the employer responsible for those records.

Use the contract and duty diagram to identify who must supply a document or resolve an assignment issue.

Remote work and reporting lines

Telework requires agreement between the agency and employee and an express provision in the employment contract or addendum. A client’s remote-work instruction alone does not complete that agreement.

The employment documents must cover:

• An express statement that the employee works through telework.
• Days or periods spent at an employer-organized workplace.
• When and how the employer may monitor the employee’s work.
• The method for recording hours worked remotely.
• Safety and health responsibilities appropriate to each telework location.
• Transport of work materials to and from the telework location, where applicable.
• Employer information about applicable data-protection requirements and employee duties to follow them.
• Measures preventing isolation and allowing regular meetings with colleagues.
• Conditions under which the employer bears telework expenses.

Name client and agency contacts for work instructions, time records, workplace incidents and document changes in the supply agreement. Agree these operational contacts without assuming a statutory staffing number.

Use Romania’s hiring and onboarding checklist to assign the agency’s deliverables and your workplace-information duties before approving the start.

Agency security and the client’s unpaid-wage exposure

The agency must maintain financial security for specified worker obligations, while you can still be required to pay under separate statutory triggers when the agency leaves obligations unpaid.

The guarantee has a salary component and a contribution component

Government Decision 1256/2011 requires the agency to deposit security in a separate account at a Romanian bank. Its amount comprises national minimum gross base salaries plus legally due employer contributions.

Statutory guarantee basis	25 national minimum gross base salaries plus legally due employer contributions	Government Decision 1256/2011
Current salary reference	RON 4,325 gross base salary per month since 1 July 2026	Government Decision 146/2026
Salary component only	25 × RON 4,325 = RON 108,125.00	Government Decision 146/2026; Government Decision 1256/2011
Contribution component	Additional legally due employer contributions under the guarantee provision	Government Decision 1256/2011
Complete numeric guarantee total	Not established; the contribution component must be determined in addition to the salary component	Government Decision 1256/2011
Replenishment after a reduction	Within 5 days of the reduction	Government Decision 1256/2011

Confirm the legally due contribution component before calculating a complete amount. Ordinary payroll CAM alone must not be assumed to reproduce the employer contributions specified by the guarantee provision.

The guarantee is required for agency authorization. Assess any client prefunding or deposit under the provider’s commercial contract, separately quoted from its service fee.

The agency may use the guarantee only for:

• Salary rights.
• Other monetary rights negotiated in the collective agreement or temporary employment contract.
• Employer contributions specified by the guarantee provision.

The agency must pay these obligations when due. If its own funds are insufficient, it uses the guarantee and must replenish any reduction within the statutory deadline.

Compare the agency’s security documents with the components, permitted uses and replenishment duty below.

Two provisions for the user’s payment duty

Assess unpaid obligations and requests under each provision separately: the Labour Code and agency-security decision impose different conditions for client payment.

Provision	Trigger	Request	Consequence
Labour Code	The agency has not performed salary, contribution and tax obligations within 15 calendar days after they become due and payable	Temporary worker’s request	The user pays the obligations; for the sums paid, the user is subrogated to the worker’s rights against the agency
Government Decision 1256/2011	Within 15 calendar days after salary, contribution and tax obligations become due and payable, the agency lacks the necessary funds or its guarantee is insufficient to cover them	Worker’s written request, which may be supported by any evidence, or labour inspector’s request	The user pays the covered obligations under this provision

The Labour Code test does not require agency insolvency or an inspector’s request. The guarantee provision expressly includes the funding condition and allows either the worker or inspector to request payment.

Follow each payment provision’s funding and request conditions below to determine whether you must pay the unpaid obligations.

Subrogation gives the paying user the worker’s rights against the agency for the sums paid. It does not ensure full recovery, and the guarantee amount does not cap the user’s payment duty.

Before signing, agree how the agency will document security, flag overdue obligations and respond to requests. Obtain records supporting payment and subsequent recourse:

• Evidence that the required guarantee is maintained and reductions are replenished.
• The salary, tax and contribution due dates and evidence of performance.
• Contacts and escalation arrangements for unpaid obligations and worker or inspector requests.
• Copies of requests, supporting evidence, payment records and the agency’s acknowledgment of sums paid by the user.

Hiring step by step: contract, fitness and REGES

Set the start date after you and the agency establish the assignment’s legal basis, complete employment prerequisites and confirm readiness for the role.

Step	Responsible party	What must be complete	Timing
Confirm the agency and task	Client and agency	Actual employing entity’s current authorization; a precise temporary task and agreed mission	Before the assignment; review time not verified
Agree the supply documents	Client and agency	Written supply agreement with the required assignment, working-condition and commercial terms	Before supplying the worker; preparation time not verified
Conclude the employment contract	Agency and employee	Written Romanian employment/mission contract under the Labour Code	No later than the day before work starts
Establish medical fitness	Agency and employee	Job-specific medical certificate; preserve the foreign-worker exception introduced in April 2026	Generally before employment; for a foreign worker, signing may precede the certificate only if it is obtained no later than work start; appointment time not verified
Transmit employee start data	Agency, through its authorized registry operator where delegated	Required employment details submitted to REGES-ONLINE	By the day before work begins; access/setup time not verified
Arrange the workplace and any telework	Client and agency; employee agrees telework terms	Working conditions and equipment; express telework agreement and required terms where applicable	Before the relevant work begins; preparation time not verified
Confirm the first payroll cycle	Agency; client supplies agreed information	Salary date, document handoffs and provider payroll cut-off	Provider cut-off and administrative lead time not verified
Total elapsed hire time	Agency, client and employee	All applicable prerequisites satisfied	Not verified; no universal end-to-end total

An already authorized agency’s recruitment, document review, medical appointment and payroll cut-off times require a case-specific provider answer. The 30-day authorization decision period does not establish hiring lead time.

Use the Romania registration and employment checklist to agree which completed documents the agency supplies and which workplace details it needs from you.

Foreign-worker start-date checks

For a foreign worker, obtain the applicable immigration route and required permissions from the provider. Confirm those alongside contract, medical and employee-record readiness before the proposed start.

The medical exception effective from 27 April 2026 permits employment-contract signing before the foreign worker presents the fitness certificate. The certificate must still be obtained no later than the start of work.

In its 15 September 2026 notice, the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) announced temporary disabling of selected WorkInRomania flows following the court-ordered suspension of the shortage-occupation list order:

• Employer registration.
• Employer authorization.
• The single application for the D/AM2 long-stay employment visa.

IGI said unaffected functions remained available and it was examining already-submitted applications. The notice gave no resumption date; current resumption and the route available to the particular worker remain unconfirmed.

Check immigration administration, temporary-agency authorization, the employment contract and permission to work separately. Completing a WorkInRomania workflow does not substitute for the other requirements.

First payroll and continuing changes

The agency must pay salary at least monthly, on the date set in the employment contract, applicable collective agreement or internal rules. Obtain that date and the agency’s information cut-off before the first payroll.

Agree how you report hours, absences and changes. The agency retains its salary, remittance and employee-record duties even when it delegates registry operation.

Under the REGES rules, salary changes are generally entered within 20 working days. Suspension and termination have separate event deadlines, including specific medical-certificate rules; do not apply the salary-change deadline to every update.

The Revisal transition notice states that the former application became unavailable from 1 January 2026, after the 31 December 2025 migration deadline. Arrange the current registry workflow with the agency.

D&B David și Baias’s 29 May 2026 article reported a first-instance REGES annulment. The final judicial outcome remains unconfirmed; that dated report does not establish an automatic return to Revisal or remove the employer’s recordkeeping responsibility.

What an employer of record costs in Romania

Budget statutory employment expense separately from agency services. Request a quote identifying each additional charge and when it applies.

Separate the budget lines

The supply agreement must state the agency service fee and employee remuneration. Ask the provider for its price, billing basis and exclusions against these budget lines.

Cost line	Legal or contractual basis	What to confirm
Gross salary	Applicable national gross base floor and assignment pay-equality requirements	Same/similar-work comparator or applicable collective benchmark, role and agreed remuneration
Ordinary employer contribution	CAM is 2.25% of the applicable monthly gross salary base	The payroll base and any conditional relief
Special-workplace employer contribution	Additional CAS of 4% for condiții deosebite or 8% for condiții speciale; alternative categories	Whether the role falls within a statutory category; these additions are excluded from the ordinary illustration
Leave, overtime and holiday work	Labour Code entitlements and applicable employment/collective terms	Leave-pay basis, additional hours, compensation method and any applicable supplements
Vocational training	Employer-funded training under the Labour Code	Relevant employing-agency headcount, required frequency and cost allocation
Agency service fee	Required commercial term in the written supply agreement	Actual amount, billing basis, included services and any exclusions
Other proposed charges	Only where the provider’s quote or contract charges them	Itemize any setup, optional benefits, immigration, FX, deposit/prefunding, exit or transition charges and their triggers

The agency cannot charge the temporary worker for recruitment by the user or for concluding the temporary employment contract. Its quoted client service fee is separate.

A statutory subtotal before the provider quote

Using July 2026 national average gross earnings as an illustrative salary, the ordinary monthly employment subtotal is gross pay plus employer CAM, before any agency services or voluntary benefits.

Gross monthly salary reference	RON 9,709.00	News.ro / Goldring
Ordinary employer CAM	RON 218.45	ANAF, Fiscal Code
Monthly statutory subtotal	RON 9,927.45	News.ro / Goldring; ANAF, Fiscal Code

The professional reference is July 2026 national gross earnings reported by News.ro and republished by Goldring.

The illustration assumes ordinary employment above minimum-pay relief eligibility and excludes provider services, voluntary benefits and special-workplace CAS. It gives neither an occupation-specific salary nor an EOR quote.

See Romania’s salary reference points for role-specific ranges and the wider employee-cost comparison. Hays’s optimum figures are recruitment references, not observed salary means or medians.

The agency guarantee is a separate authorization requirement. Its salary component establishes neither the full guarantee nor a required client deposit.

What changes the payroll base

The agency withholds employee CAS of 25% and CASS of 10% on the applicable salary bases. Those gross-pay deductions are not added as extra employer costs to the subtotal.

Salary income tax is 10% of the taxable salary base after compulsory employee contributions and applicable deductions. Calculate those bases separately; adding the rates would misstate the employee’s salary-tax burden.

The former software salary income-tax exemption ended in January 2025. Confirm any other applicable deductions or exemptions independently; an ordinary software job no longer qualifies for the former sector exemption.

For July–December 2026, conditional minimum-pay relief excludes RON 200 per month from salary income tax and mandatory social contributions. All applicable eligibility conditions must be satisfied together:

• Full-time employment at the worker’s main job.
• Contractual gross base salary equal to the national minimum for the relevant month, excluding supplements and additions.
• Monthly gross salary and salary-equivalent income under that contract no higher than RON 4,600, excluding legally granted meal tickets, holiday vouchers and food allowance from the ceiling calculation.

Prorate the relief for the period with base pay at the minimum, a new hire’s start date, the fraction of the month earning salary income, or termination during the month.

The enacted relief covers income only through 31 December 2026. Confirm the later period’s rules before extending a budget beyond that date; the exemption cannot be carried forward automatically.

The contract’s minimum-pay limit runs for at most 24 months from conclusion; afterward, base salary must exceed the current national minimum. That increase also defeats the relief’s exact-minimum-base condition.

Review the country guide’s minimum-pay deadlines together: national floor, contract duration and temporary relief. These conditions alone establish neither individual net salary nor a minimum-wage employment total.

Working time and leave during the assignment

Send work schedules and absence records to the agency in time to calculate assignment salary, leave pay and statutory benefits.

Working hours and additional work

The ordinary full-time schedule is 8 hours daily and 40 hours weekly. Including overtime, the ordinary ceiling is 48 hours a week averaged over a 4-month reference period, subject to qualified exceptions.

Specified collective-agreement exceptions can extend the averaging period. Overtime also needs employee consent, except force majeure or urgent work to prevent accidents or remove their consequences; record the basis for additional work.

Report overtime and proposed compensation promptly so the agency’s records and payroll reflect work performed. Compensate overtime in this order:

• Paid time off within 90 calendar days after the overtime.
• If that time off cannot be provided, a pay supplement of at least 75% of the corresponding base salary.

Allow daily rest of at least 12 consecutive hours, with at least 8 between shifts under the shift-work exception. Weekly rest is 48 consecutive hours, normally on Saturday and Sunday.

For qualifying night workers, the statutory alternatives are a working day shortened by one hour without pay reduction or a 25% base-salary supplement. Apply the qualification conditions separately from overtime compensation.

Lawfully worked public holidays require time off within 30 days. If that cannot be granted for justified reasons, the supplement is at least 100% of corresponding base salary; holiday and overtime triggers differ.

Leave requests, records and payroll

Agree how your scheduling contact sends leave dates and absence records to agency payroll, allowing it to meet these entitlements and payment deadlines:

• Annual paid leave is at least 20 working days, separately from public holidays.
• Justifiably unused annual leave must be granted within 18 months starting in the following year, with the employee’s agreement; cash substitution is permitted only when employment ends.
• Annual-leave pay uses the daily average of relevant salary components over the preceding 3 months and must be paid at least 5 working days before leave.
• The Labour Code lists 17 statutory holiday entitlements; they do not necessarily add 17 working weekdays to the employee’s calendar.

Keep work and leave arrangements consistent with the assigned worker’s equivalent access to your services and facilities.

Share actual schedules and absences with the agency; a standard monthly salary does not cover every supplement. See Romania’s employment guide for full working-time, holiday and leave conditions.

Medical certificates and family leave

The agency needs the certificate category, episode information and relevant insurance history to apply sickness-benefit rules. The ordinary qualifying period is 6 insured months during the 12 months preceding the medical-leave month.

Check applicable exceptions and assimilated insurance periods. For employees, the benefit basis averages relevant gross earnings over 6 of the previous 12 months, limited to 12 national minimum gross monthly salaries.

For ordinary illness or a non-work accident, apply the duration-based percentage to the statutory basis. Assess successive certificates under the episode rules.

Ordinary episode lasting up to 7 days	55% of the statutory benefit basis	OUG 158/2005
Ordinary episode lasting 8–14 days	65% of the statutory benefit basis	OUG 158/2005
Ordinary episode lasting over 15 days	75% of the statutory benefit basis	OUG 158/2005

The treatment of an ordinary episode lasting exactly 15 days remains unconfirmed. Ask the agency to establish the applicable payroll treatment before calculating that certificate’s benefit or committing to an amount.

For covered certificates issued 1 February 2026–31 December 2027, the benefit is reduced by one day. For a continuous illness episode or its complications, apply that reduction once, irrespective of certificate count.

In ordinary temporary incapacity, the employing agency funds days 2–6 inclusive and FNUASS funds from the following day. The employer-period rule has a stated exception for certificates relating to statutory isolation.

The one-day reduction has exemptions for maternity, maternal risk, oncology-patient care, national-health-program illness and hospitalization. Identify the certificate’s category before applying the reduction or the ordinary agency-funded period to payroll.

For assignment coverage and agency payroll, distinguish these family-leave entitlements. Eligibility and funding differ, and current salary alone does not establish the benefit:

• Maternity leave totals 126 calendar days. Benefit is 85% of the statutory gross-income benefit basis and fully funded by FNUASS; it is not automatically 85% of the last salary.
• Paternal leave gives employed fathers 10 paid working days, funded by the employing agency at the corresponding salary. Request it within 8 weeks of birth; a qualifying infant-care course certificate adds 5 working days.
• Childcare leave requires at least 12 months of qualifying taxable income during the previous 2 years. It lasts until the child is 2, or 3 for a child with disability.
• Childcare benefit uses 85% of the relevant 12-month average net income, subject to a RON 8,500 maximum and minimum of 2.5 times ISR, the social reference indicator. The social payments agency collects 10% CASS on the benefit.
• When both parents are eligible, the parent who did not claim leave first has at least 2 reserved months; the initial claimant cannot take that period on their behalf.
• Eligible caregiver leave provides 5 paid working days per calendar year for a serious medical problem affecting a relative or cohabitant. Unforeseen illness/accident family emergencies allow up to 10 working days yearly, with time recovery agreed with the employer.

Use the country guide’s leave entitlements for full statutory conditions. Agree documentation and coverage with the agency; your scheduling arrangements must preserve employee entitlements.

Assignment limits, employment exit and client risks

Check the assignment’s task and duration limits, then assess employment exit, permanent establishment and work ownership under the actual contracts and circumstances.

Mission duration and the employment relationship

The Labour Code’s mission limits apply to the precise temporary task. They do not establish a universal expiry date for an employee whom the agency separately employs on an indefinite contract.

Mission at the outset	No more than 24 months	Labour Code
Mission including successive extensions	No more than 36 months in total	Labour Code
Separate agency employment	An indefinite contract is possible; between missions, the employee remains at the agency’s disposal	Labour Code

A mission-specific temporary employment contract can end when the mission finishes or the user withdraws early under the supply agreement. Review the separate indefinite employment relationship before treating mission expiry as dismissal.

Plan extensions and exit on the separate assignment and employment tracks below. Another assignment document does not establish a duration reset.

Probation and ending the arrangement

The temporary mission’s probation limits depend on its length and the role, measured in working days. Ordinary employment uses a separate regime.

Mission of no more than 1 month	Probation up to 2 working days	Labour Code
Mission over 1 month and up to 3 months	Probation up to 5 working days	Labour Code
Mission over 3 months and up to 6 months	Probation up to 15 working days	Labour Code
Mission over 6 months, non-management	Probation up to 20 working days	Labour Code
Mission over 6 months, management	Probation up to 30 working days	Labour Code

Ordinary probation permits up to 90 calendar days for non-management and 120 for management. Other fixed-term employment has separate probation bands; neither set should replace the assignment-specific limits above.

Ending the agency service agreement and employee contract requires separate documents and grounds. The commercial cancellation period does not determine employee notice.

• Specified incapacity, professional-unsuitability and redundancy dismissals require at least 20 working days’ notice, subject to the probation exception.
• Resignation notice is contractual, capped at 20 working days for ordinary employees and 45 for management. The employer may waive notice; employer breach permits resignation without it.
• During or at the end of probation, employment may end by written notification without notice or reasons under the applicable rule.

For redundancy, the position must actually be abolished for a real and serious cause. Dismissal needs a written decision with statutory particulars; procedural defects can invalidate the agency’s proposed employment exit.

Check redundancy compensation under applicable law and collective terms, plus unused-leave pay on termination. The compensation provision sets no universal fixed severance for agency cancellation.

An unlawful or unjustified dismissal can require indexed and updated lost salary and other rights, with reinstatement if the employee requests it. See Romania’s termination guidance for the wider exit rules.

Permanent establishment and software rights

An EOR contract does not settle your permanent-establishment position. Domestic law examines a place through which nonresident activity is conducted, directly or through a dependent agent; assess the actual facts and applicable treaty.

Review Romanian activities, workplace and authority exercised for your business. Agency employment provides no immunity from factual or treaty-based tax analysis.

For employee-created software, economic copyright normally belongs to the employer where creation follows job duties or employer instructions, unless agreed otherwise. In this model, that employer is the agency.

Check the documented onward rights to your business. A copyright assignment must specify transferred economic rights and each right’s uses, duration, extent and author remuneration; omission permits the interested party to seek termination.

The assignment’s existence and contents require written proof, subject to the press-work exception. Exclusivity must be express, and moral rights cannot be transferred; signing a service document alone does not establish client ownership.

Non-compete and enforcement exposure

An agreed post-employment non-compete requires employer-paid monthly compensation of at least 50% of the final 6 months’ average gross salary income. For employment shorter than 6 months, use the employment-period gross average.

Specify the restricted activities, monthly compensation, period, third parties and geographic area of actual competition. The clause may last at most 2 years after employment ends and cannot absolutely prohibit the worker’s profession or specialization.

Its applicability is limited for employer-initiated exits unrelated to the employee and automatic termination, subject to the Code’s listed exceptions. Check the actual exit ground before relying on the restriction.

Assess the paid employee non-compete separately from any clause forbidding you to hire the worker after the mission. That hiring prohibition is void under the supply-agreement rules.

Apply each enforcement amount to its duty and responsible party. These examples establish neither a universal EOR-client fine nor a combined total for all possible failures.

Party	Trigger	Amount/remedy
Temporary-work agency operator	Agency activity without authorization	RON 10,000–30,000
Temporary-work agency	Breach of employment-record, agency-change notification or authorization-surrender duties under Articles 12, 14(1) and 15(1)	RON 2,000–3,000
Client/user undertaking	Failure to provide temporary workers access to training organized for the user’s staff or equivalent employment rights under Article 19	RON 2,000–3,000
Employing agency	Allowing work without a written employment contract	RON 40,000 per person; aggregate cap RON 1,000,000
Employing agency	Allowing work without transmitting required contract details to the employee register by the previous day	RON 20,000 per person; aggregate cap RON 200,000
Employing agency	Paying a worker below the statutory base-salary floor or applicable collective minimum	RON 3,000–5,000 per affected worker; aggregate cap RON 200,000
Employing agency	Salary unpaid more than one month beyond the date set in the employment contract, applicable collective agreement or internal rules; statutory insolvency exception applies	RON 5,000–10,000 per unpaid worker
Employing agency	Missing express telework provision in the employment contract or addendum	RON 10,000 per worker
Employing agency	Missing the other specified telework clauses	RON 5,000
Employing agency	Unlawful or unjustified dismissal established by the court	Indexed and updated lost salary and other rights; requested reinstatement

Assess your conditional payment duty using the agency-security table. Its funding and request tests are separate from employer fines, dismissal remedies and commercial exit charges.

When you do not need an EOR in Romania

Eligible foreign employers can hire directly; genuinely independent work can use a service contract. Each route must satisfy its registration, reporting and legal requirements for the actual relationship.

Direct foreign-employer payroll has conditions

ANAF’s foreign-employer procedure covers employers without Romanian headquarters, a permanent establishment or representation. First establish which European social-security coordination rules or applicable social-security agreement govern the proposed employment and contributions.

Where a coordinated employer owes Romanian contributions, the payroll agreement determines who files and pays. Assign each declaration before the first payroll.

Reporting arrangement	Who registers/reports	Forms	Conditions
Employer and worker have no qualifying payroll agreement	Employer obtains fiscal registration and declares, withholds and pays the social contributions; worker declares and pays salary income tax	Employer: 015 and D112. Worker: D224; 030 if a fiscal identification number is needed because there is no CNP	Foreign employer has no Romanian headquarters, permanent establishment or representation; European coordination or an applicable social-security agreement makes Romanian contributions due
Worker accepts payroll administration through a qualifying agreement	Worker registers and declares salary tax, employee contributions and employer contributions; employer submits the translated agreement or empowers the worker to submit it	Worker: 020 with a CNP, otherwise 030; D112 covers tax and both parties’ contributions, without D224	Same coordinated-employer conditions; agreement must contain information needed to determine contributions and have a Romanian translation certified by authorized translators

Declarations and payments are generally due by the 25th of the following month. Agree how the employer supplies the worker with the necessary information.

The agreement allocates administration without exempting the employer from liability. Assess permanent-establishment exposure against actual activity and the applicable treaty, independently of the filing arrangement.

Assess the employment-contract requirements and employer’s registry responsibility separately. The Romania country guide explains registration and employee readiness in detail; moving tax administration to the worker does not resolve those duties.

When the work is genuinely independent

For a natural person’s activity, fiscal independence requires at least four of seven criteria. The agreement must describe an independent relationship and reflect how the work actually operates, without subordination.

The criteria examine working freedom, access to multiple clients, assumed risk, own assets, personal capabilities, professional-body membership and freedom to work directly or through employees or collaborators, where legally permitted.

Location, method and schedule freedom must all be present to satisfy that combined criterion. One client can satisfy the multiple-client freedom criterion where the agreement does not impose an exclusivity clause.

Those fiscal criteria do not replace the separate labour-law assessment: work, salary-form remuneration and subordination are examined cumulatively. Registration alone cannot establish independence where the client controls performance as an employer would.

Tax authorities may recharacterize activity according to its economic substance, with supporting reasons and evidence. Recognition of employment can also produce employee entitlements and exposure for unlawfully receiving someone for work.

Use the Romania contractor guide for full independence tests, PFA/SRL routes and contracts. The working relationship must support the claimed independent status.

Alternatives for a permanent team or an independent project

Choose a route by identifying the employer or counterparty, who directs performance and whether the work is temporary or independent.

Route	Legal employer or counterparty	When to consider it	What remains to arrange
Authorized temporary-work agency	Agency signing the employee’s employment contract	A precise temporary assignment under your supervision fits the agency framework	Current authorization, mission and employment terms, supply agreement, equal treatment, workplace duties and the separate security/payment rules
Your Romanian employer	Your Romanian employing entity	Permanent staffing and Romanian operations call for your business to hold the employer role	Entity registration, employment contracts, payroll, employee records, working conditions and ongoing employment administration
Qualified direct foreign employment	Your foreign business signs as employer	Direct employment meets the applicable foreign-employer conditions described above	Establish absence of Romanian headquarters/PE/representation for the ANAF route, applicable social-security coordination, reporting allocation and separate labour obligations
Genuine independent PFA/SRL services	Authorized natural person or registered company is the service counterparty	The agreed service is performed with actual independence	Check PFA authorization or company registration, classification, service terms, tax/invoice responsibilities and documented rights to deliverables

An existing employer can delegate payroll administration while retaining its employer role. Delegating employee-register operation, for example, leaves the employing entity responsible for its registry obligations.

Assess services outsourcing by how the individual actually works. If your business directs them like an employee, review the agency and labour framework before relying on the service agreement.

Plan direct employment with the country guide’s employer and onboarding steps, or independent services with the contractor guide. Establish suitability and responsibilities before comparing provider prices or promised timings.

Moving from agency employment to your own employer

After the mission, the worker may sign an employment contract with the user. The completed mission counts when establishing salary rights and other rights provided by employment law for that relationship.

The supply agreement cannot validly prohibit post-mission hiring. Assess the actual commercial transition terms separately before planning the change.

Document the transition with the agency, worker and new employer, including earned rights and the documents each party needs:

• Name the new employing entity, employment terms and intended start date; review any proposed probation under the applicable rules.
• Record the completed mission and its treatment for salary and other statutory rights, alongside accrued entitlements and employment records.
• Confirm documented software and other deliverable rights, relevant records and responsibility for the employee’s new registration and continuing administration.
• Read the agency agreement’s notice, transition services and any fee provisions; obtain written terms for promised continuity or other commercial arrangements.

Agree the new employment contract and agency exit with the relevant parties. The right to hire and recognition of mission duration do not complete those contracts.

How to choose a provider for a Romanian assignment

Before choosing a provider, check its actual employer, authorization and assignment documents against your job. Request operational answers, supporting records and commercial terms before signing.

The provider may use its own agency or a local partner. In either case, identify which legal person employs the worker and how its contracts connect to your business and the marketed service.

Assess authorization, the temporary task and duties in either structure. Ownership alone does not establish compliance with agency requirements.

• Which entity will employ the worker? Request its legal name, CUI, current agency authorization, renewal and expiry details, and confirmation of withdrawal or surrender status from the competent authority where needed.
• What makes this assignment temporary? Ask for the precise task, mission duration and extension plan, together with the proposed employment contract’s treatment between missions if the agency offers indefinite employment.
• How is the agency’s guarantee maintained? Request evidence covering both the statutory salary component and additional legally due employer contributions, plus use and replenishment procedures. Identify any separately quoted client deposit or prefunding.
• How will equal treatment be established? Ask which comparable user employee or applicable collective benchmark determines pay, how equivalent facilities are provided, and which client information the agency needs to apply those terms.
• Who handles working conditions and remote work? Request the workplace-duty allocation, accident-notification contacts and agreed telework provisions, including monitoring, working-time records, safety, data information and expense conditions where remote work is proposed.
• Which documents are required before work begins? Obtain the written supply agreement and Romanian employment terms, with user and mission details, and evidence of the employer’s required employee-register submission before the start.
• How will fitness and immigration readiness be confirmed? Request the medical-certificate plan and, for a foreign worker, case-specific permissions and current workflow availability. Seek current confirmation rather than assuming the selected September suspensions have ended.
• What are the payroll cut-off and payment dates? Ask for the operational calendar, contractual salary due date, handling of late client inputs and evidence that salary, taxes and contributions are paid as required.
• What happens if payroll obligations go unpaid? Request named escalation contacts, due-date evidence and supporting documents for each statutory payment provision. Keep their request requirements, any funding conditions and client recourse distinct.
• Which payroll qualifications affect this employee? Ask the agency to explain this employee’s eligibility and treatment under minimum-pay relief, the former software exemption, medical-certificate rules, applicable collective terms and employer-funded training.
• What does the commercial quote include? Obtain itemized salary, employer contributions and agency services, with any charged setup, benefits, immigration, expenses, currency conversion, client funding or transition services expressly identified.
• How will exit or direct hiring work? Request separate agency-service and employment exit terms, treatment of completed-mission rights, the proposed new employer’s documents and the written chain of software and other deliverable rights.
• How will your systems and employee data be handled? Ask about integrations, access permissions, storage locations, retention, security measures and employee access. Request evidence for any certification or service-level promise the provider makes.
• Who resolves routine and urgent issues? Request named payroll and local employment contacts, response arrangements and continuity plans. Confirm which agency or partner performs each service and who remains accountable under the contracts.

Obtain the proposed price, lead time and conditions in writing. Check them against document readiness and assigned responsibilities before committing to a start date.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to use an employer of record in Romania?

The authorized temporary-agency model permits employment for a precise temporary assignment under the user’s supervision. A marketed EOR arrangement must satisfy that framework in practice; its product name alone does not establish authorization or legal suitability.

Can a foreign company hire in Romania without a local entity?

Yes, an authorized agency can employ the worker. Qualified direct foreign employment also exists without Romanian headquarters, a permanent establishment or representation, subject to applicable social-security coordination and reporting arrangements. Labour requirements and PE exposure still need assessment.

How do I check an EOR company in Romania?

Match the actual employing entity’s name and CUI to its current agency authorization. Check renewal, expiry and withdrawal or surrender status, obtaining competent-authority confirmation where needed. A CUI or registry appearance alone is insufficient.

How much does an employer of record in Romania cost?

One ordinary-workplace illustration uses the July 2026 reference: RON 9,709 gross plus RON 218.45 CAM (2.25%), totaling RON 9,927.45 monthly. It excludes agency fees, voluntary benefits and special-workplace CAS. Request the actual itemized provider quote.

How quickly can an EOR hire someone in Romania?

Written Romanian contract and REGES requirements must be completed by the day before work starts. Medical fitness must meet the applicable timing rule; foreign-worker permissions also need current confirmation. Recruitment and readiness determine the provider’s actual lead time.

Can an EOR assignment in Romania last indefinitely?

The mission can last at most 24 months initially and 36 months including extensions. Separate indefinite agency employment is possible. Mission expiry does not automatically dismiss a worker employed under that separate indefinite relationship.

Does an EOR remove permanent establishment risk in Romania?

Agency employment does not eliminate permanent-establishment risk. Assess the business’s actual Romanian activity, workplace and dependent-agent circumstances against domestic law and the applicable treaty. The EOR contract alone cannot establish the absence of a permanent establishment.

Can I hire the agency worker directly later?

After the mission, the worker may sign an employment contract with the user; a prohibition on that hiring is void. Completed mission duration counts for salary and other statutory employment rights. Document employment and commercial transition terms separately.

Sources

1. Romanian legislature. Labour Code, consolidated 27 April 2026. Accessed 12 October 2026.
2. Romanian Government / Legislative Portal. Government Decision 1256/2011 on temporary-work agency authorization. Accessed 12 October 2026.
3. ANAF Brașov. Foreign employers without Romanian headquarters, permanent establishment or representation: employer and employee fiscal obligations. Accessed 12 October 2026.
4. 4dev.com. The platform for compliant contractor work worldwide. Accessed 12 October 2026.
5. 4dev.com. Complete list of countries available for contractors. Accessed 12 October 2026.
6. 4dev.com. Global Contractor Operations for CEOs. Accessed 12 October 2026.
7. Multilaw. How to Hire and Fire Guide — Romania, 2026, contributed chapter. Accessed 12 October 2026.
8. Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații. Șerban Pâslaru — Partner profile. Accessed 12 October 2026.
9. Romanian Government / ITM Vaslui. Government Decision 295/2025 on REGES-ONLINE. Accessed 12 October 2026.
10. Romanian legislature. Law 81/2018 on telework, consolidated 25 March 2022. Accessed 12 October 2026.
11. Romanian Government / ANAF. Government Decision 146/2026 on the national minimum base salary. Accessed 12 October 2026.
12. General Inspectorate for Immigration. Clarification of 15 September 2026 on selected WorkInRomania workflows. Accessed 12 October 2026.
13. Romanian legislature. Labour Code, official printable consolidated text. Accessed 12 October 2026.
14. ITM Arad. Revisal to REGES-ONLINE migration notice. Accessed 12 October 2026.
15. PwC Romania Blog / D&B David și Baias. Government Decision 295/2025 on REGES annulled at first instance: what employers should know, 29 May 2026. Accessed 12 October 2026.
16. ANAF. Fiscal Code and implementing norms, updated through OUG 38/2026 (ANAF, Fiscal Code). Accessed 12 October 2026.
17. News.ro / Goldring S.A. National earnings in July 2026 (professional source). Accessed 12 October 2026.
18. ANAF Cluj. New D112 model following OUG 156/2024. Accessed 12 October 2026.
19. ANAF Galați. Minimum non-taxable amount in 2026. Accessed 12 October 2026.
20. Romanian legislature. OUG 158/2005 on sickness and maternity benefits, consolidated text. Accessed 12 October 2026.
21. Romanian legislature. OUG 158/2005 implementing norms, updated 24 July 2026. Accessed 12 October 2026.
22. Romanian legislature. Law 210/1999 on paternal leave, consolidated 29 August 2022. Accessed 12 October 2026.
23. Romanian legislature. OUG 111/2010 on childcare leave, consolidated text. Accessed 12 October 2026.
24. Romanian legislature. Law 8/1996, Article 75 on employee-created software, consolidated 4 April 2022. Accessed 12 October 2026.
25. Romanian Parliament / Legislative Portal. Law 8/1996 on copyright and related rights, consolidated text. Accessed 12 October 2026.
26. Romanian Parliament / ITM Giurgiu. Law 239/2025, Article XXXIV amending the written-employment-contract penalty. Accessed 12 October 2026.
27. Romanian legislature. Labour Code, Article 260, consolidated 18 November 2025. Accessed 12 October 2026.
28. Magda Volonciu and Associates / L&E Global. Re-characterisation of independent contractors as employees — Romania, 12 August 2025. Accessed 12 October 2026.
29. Romanian Government / Legislative Portal. OUG 44/2008 on authorized natural persons and individual and family enterprises, consolidated 26 November 2022. Accessed 12 October 2026.
30. Romanian Parliament / Legislative Portal. Law 265/2022 on the Trade Register. Accessed 12 October 2026.