Hire in Romania
Romania — 19 million population, $15,800 GDP per capita. Everything you need to know about employment law, tax, compliance and hiring in Romania.
Capital
Bucharest
Currency
Romanian Leu (RON)
Languages
Romanian
Time zones
UTC+2 (EET) / UTC+3 (EEST)
Hiring overview
- Typical time to hire
- 1-3 weeks for contractor, 3-5 weeks for full-time
- Entity requirement
- Romanian SRL. Registration at Trade Register (ONRC).
- EOR available
- Yes — from $399/employee/month through a Corpshore entity
- Contractor of record
- Yes — from $39/worker/month
Employment law
- Standard workweek
- 40 hours (8 hours/day, 5 days)
- Maximum weekly hours
- 48 hours
- Minimum annual leave
- 20 working days
- Public holidays
- 15 per year
- Maternity leave
- 126 days (63 before + 63 after), paid at 85% of average income
- Paternity leave
- 10 working days (15 if father completes childcare course), fully paid
- Notice period
- Employee: 20 working days. Employer: 20 working days.
- Severance
- No statutory severance. Collective agreements or individual contracts may provide it.
- Probation
- Up to 90 days (120 for management positions)
- Overtime rules
- 75% premium or compensatory time off within 60 days.
Tax overview
- Income tax range
- 10% flat rate
- Corporate tax
- 16% (1% or 3% turnover tax for micro-enterprises)
- Social contributions
- Employee: 35% (CAS 25% + CASS 10%). Employer: 2.25% (work insurance).
- VAT / GST
- 19% (standard); 9% reduced (food, accommodation); 5% (housing, books)
- Tax year
- Calendar year
- Treaty network
- Over 85 tax treaties
Compliance landscape
- Worker classification
- Labour Code (Codul Muncii) governs. PFA (authorised natural person) regime for contractors. ANAF and labour inspectorate investigate.
- Data protection
- GDPR directly applicable. ANSPDCP (national authority) enforces.
- Right to work
- EU nationals: free movement. Non-EU: work permit required. Blue Card available.
- Non-compete
- Enforceable if: compensated (minimum 50% of gross salary), limited to 2 years, and specific in scope.
- Collective bargaining
- Social Dialogue Law (2011) governs. Sector-level bargaining weakened after 2011 reforms. Company-level agreements common.
Payment rails
SEPA for eurozone transfers. Domestic transfers via TransFonD (RON). Romania is expected to join the eurozone by 2026-2027.
Key considerations for hiring
- 10% flat income tax is one of the lowest in the EU
- IT sector employees had a complete income tax exemption (removed in 2024, now subject to standard 10%)
- Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, and Timisoara are major tech centres
- Romania has one of the largest IT workforces in Eastern Europe (~200,000 professionals)
Business and cultural context: Romania
Business culture
Mix of Western European professionalism and Eastern European warmth. Younger generation is highly international. English proficiency is strong in IT.
Key industries
Talent pool strengths
Historical context
Romania's IT sector grew from a tradition of strong mathematics education and a communist-era emphasis on technical training. Bucharest's Polytechnic University and Cluj-Napoca's Babes-Bolyai University produce world-class engineers. The country hosts development centres for Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, and dozens of European tech companies.
Ready to hire in Romania?
Use our EOR service from $399/month and we handle employment law, payroll, tax and compliance in Romania for you.