Romania’s termination framework is relatively predictable for foreign employers. Notice periods are defined by law, statutory severance isn’t mandated in most cases, and mutual termination agreements give both parties a clean exit when the relationship ends by consent. The part that catches employers off guard is the absolute ban on terminating employees during sick leave, maternity leave, and parental leave. Ignore those protections and the termination is null and void.
This guide covers everything you need to manage a compliant exit: notice periods, valid grounds, severance, final pay, documentation, and what happens when a foreign employee is involved.
Overview of termination types
Romania’s Labour Code (Codul Muncii) sets out four main routes to ending employment. The table below gives you the key parameters for each.
| Termination type | Who initiates | Notice required | Statutory severance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resignation | Employee | 20 calendar days (non-management); 45 calendar days (management) | None |
| Termination with cause | Employer | None required if cause is serious and documented | None |
| Termination without cause | Employer | 20 working days (non-management); 45 working days (management) | None (contract or CBA may apply) |
| Mutual termination agreement | Both parties | Typically waived by agreement | None (negotiable) |
Notice must be in writing in all cases. A termination decision that isn’t in written form is null and void under the Labour Code.
Resignation
Romanian law gives employees the right to resign by submitting a written notice. The employer doesn’t need to accept or approve the resignation for it to be valid.
Notice period
The statutory resignation notice period is 20 calendar days for non-management roles and 45 calendar days for management or executive roles. The employee works through the notice period unless both parties agree in writing to waive it. The employee can’t unilaterally cut the notice short.
Immediate resignation without notice
There is one exception to the standard notice requirement. If the employer materially breaches the terms of the employment contract, including non-payment of wages, the employee can terminate the relationship immediately without serving any notice period. The employee must be able to document the breach that triggered the immediate exit.
Final pay on resignation
All outstanding wages and compensation for unused annual leave must be settled by the end of the notice period. There’s no statutory severance on resignation. Any severance entitlement must come from the employment contract or a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Termination with cause
Termination with cause covers situations where the employee’s own conduct or circumstances create a valid basis for the employer to end employment. This section explains what qualifies, how to run the process, and what the documentation requirements are.
Valid grounds
Romanian law recognises four grounds for termination with cause:
- Consistent breach of workplace rules or contractual obligations (often supported by prior written warnings)
- Preventive custody exceeding 30 days (where the employee is detained and unavailable to work)
- Medical declaration of inability to fulfil the duties of the role
- Failure to meet the professional qualifications required for the position
Each of these grounds requires specific documentation. A vague assertion that an employee is underperforming isn’t enough to support a cause-based termination.
Notice period
If the cause is serious and properly documented, termination can be immediate. There’s no minimum statutory notice period for termination with cause. In practice, the strength of your documentation determines how defensible an immediate exit is.
Severance
There’s no statutory severance requirement for termination with cause. The employer settles final wages and accrued leave but doesn’t owe a severance payment unless the employment contract or CBA says otherwise.
Documentation requirements
The termination decision must be issued in writing. It must state the specific grounds, include reference to any prior warnings or supporting evidence, and specify the effective date. Keep the full investigation file, any written warnings, and the signed termination notice on record.
Termination without cause
Termination without cause applies when the reason for ending employment is economic or organisational rather than attributable to the employee. This route is commonly used in restructuring, redundancy, and financial difficulty scenarios.
Valid grounds
Lawful grounds for termination without cause include economic restructuring, organisational changes, and financial difficulties that make the employee’s position redundant. The employer must be able to demonstrate the business rationale. Terminating without cause in a way that can’t be connected to a genuine business reason creates legal exposure.
Notice periods
The required notice for termination without cause is 20 working days for non-management roles and 45 working days for management or executive roles. These are working days, not calendar days. The employer may pay in lieu of notice rather than requiring the employee to continue working through the period. Payment in lieu ends the employment relationship on the date of payment.
Severance
Romanian labour law doesn’t mandate statutory severance pay for termination without cause in standard cases. Whether severance is owed depends on what the employment contract or applicable CBA provides. If the contract includes a severance clause, that clause governs. If there’s no contractual entitlement, no severance is due.
There’s no government-funded redundancy scheme in Romania of the kind that exists in some other EU countries. Final pay obligations are limited to outstanding wages and accrued leave unless the contract provides more.
Documentation requirements
The termination notice must be in writing, must set out the grounds, and must state the effective date and the applicable notice period. Keep a copy of the business justification that supports the decision. A written termination without documented grounds invites challenge.
Mutual termination agreement
A mutual termination agreement (MTA) is a written agreement between employer and employee to end the employment relationship voluntarily. It’s often the cleanest and lowest-risk route to exiting the relationship, particularly when both parties are ready to move on.
How it works
Both parties sign a written agreement that sets out the agreed termination date and any terms they’ve negotiated. Because the exit is consensual, the standard notice periods are typically waived by agreement. There’s no mandatory waiting period once the MTA is signed.
Severance in an mta
Romanian law doesn’t require a severance payment in an MTA, but the parties are free to negotiate one. In practice, employers often offer a payment to secure the employee’s agreement, particularly where a contested termination would be messier or riskier. Whatever is agreed should be recorded in the MTA itself.
Why it’s common
The MTA removes the procedural complexity that comes with cause-based or no-cause terminations. There’s no risk of a successful challenge on procedural grounds because the employee has actively consented to the exit. For employers navigating a sensitive separation, an MTA with a negotiated payment is frequently the most efficient outcome.
Probation period terminations
Romania allows employers to set a probationary period at the start of employment. For non-executive and non-management roles, the maximum probation period is 90 days. For executive and management roles, the maximum is 120 days.
Termination during probation requires less procedural formality than a post-probation exit. The employer can end the relationship more simply, without the full cause-based or no-cause procedure. The termination must still be in writing. Final pay obligations apply in the same way: outstanding wages and accrued leave must be settled.
If neither party terminates during probation and employment continues, the full Labour Code protections apply from the point probation ends.
Employee protections during leave
Romania’s Labour Code includes absolute protections that block termination during certain leave periods. These aren’t discretionary. A termination that violates these protections is null and void regardless of what grounds the employer believed existed.
Sick leave
An employee on certified medical leave (sick leave) can’t be terminated during that leave period. The protection applies from the start of the sick leave until the employee returns to work or the leave period formally ends.
Maternity leave
An employee on maternity leave can’t be terminated. This protection applies throughout the duration of maternity leave.
Parental leave
The protection during parental leave extends until the child reaches 3 years of age. If the child has a disability, the protection extends until the child reaches 4 years of age. This is one of the broadest parental leave protections in EU employment law and it applies regardless of whether the employee is the mother or the father.
If you’re planning an exit and the employee is on any of these protected leaves, you must wait until the protection period ends before proceeding. Issuing a termination notice during a protected period won’t survive a legal challenge.
Final pay and documentation obligations
Getting the final pay and paperwork right matters. Errors here create liability after the relationship has already ended.
Final pay
All outstanding wages and compensation for unused annual leave must be settled by the end of the notice period. This applies across all termination types. If the employer is paying in lieu of notice, the outstanding wages and leave compensation must be settled at the same time. The Labour Code imposes penalties on employers who fail to pay on time.
Certificate of employment
The employer must issue a certificate of employment upon the employee’s request. This document confirms the employment relationship, the role held, and the dates of employment. Don’t wait for a problem before preparing it.
Written termination notice
For all employer-initiated terminations, the termination decision must be in writing. A termination without a written notice is null and void under the Labour Code. The notice must include the grounds for termination and the effective date.
Mutual termination agreement
For exits by mutual consent, the written MTA signed by both parties serves as the termination document. Retain a signed copy.
Reges-online update
Romania’s electronic labour registry, REGES-Online, must be updated to reflect the end of employment. This is a legal requirement and the update must be made on termination. Failure to update the registry is a compliance breach separate from any employment law issue.
Immigration compliance on exit
If you’re terminating a foreign national working in Romania, there are immigration obligations that run alongside the employment law requirements.
The employer must notify the relevant immigration authorities of the termination of a foreign employee. This notification requirement exists independently of the employment exit process and must be completed.
The foreign employee needs to ensure their work permit or residence permit remains valid through the end of the notice period. Once employment ends, the employee is responsible for regularising their immigration status. Employers should make clear in the termination notice what the end date of employment is so the employee has sufficient time to take the necessary steps.
How to terminate a romanian employee without a local entity
Foreign companies that don’t have a Romanian legal entity need a compliant structure to employ, pay, and terminate workers under Romanian law. Operating informally or through a non-compliant arrangement creates exposure at every stage of the employment lifecycle, but particularly on termination.
An Employer of Record (EOR) acts as the legal employer in Romania. The EOR holds the employment contract under Romanian law, manages payroll, handles contributions to the Romanian social security system, and administers terminations in full compliance with the Labour Code. You retain day-to-day control of the employee’s work.
When you need to end employment, the EOR manages the process: confirming that the grounds are valid, issuing written notices, calculating final pay, updating REGES-Online, and handling the immigration notification for foreign nationals. For companies evaluating EOR services for Romania, this structure removes the procedural risk that turns a routine exit into a legal dispute.
RemotePass employs workers across Romania and manages the full employment lifecycle from onboarding through compliant offboarding. Whether you’re terminating a single employee or restructuring a team, RemotePass ensures every step meets Romanian Labour Code requirements. Book a RemotePass demo to see how it works.
FAQs
What is the notice period for termination in Romania? It depends on who is terminating and the type of termination. For employer-initiated termination without cause, notice is 20 working days for non-management roles and 45 working days for management roles. For employee resignations, notice is 20 calendar days (non-management) or 45 calendar days (management). For termination with cause, no notice is required if the cause is serious and documented. All notice must be in writing.
Is severance required when making an employee redundant in Romania? Romanian law doesn’t mandate statutory severance for termination without cause. Whether a severance payment is owed depends entirely on what the employment contract or applicable collective bargaining agreement provides. If neither document includes a severance clause, no payment is required beyond final wages and accrued leave.
Can an employer terminate an employee who is on sick leave in Romania? No. Romanian law prohibits termination during sick leave, maternity leave, and parental leave (up to the child’s third birthday, or fourth if the child has a disability). A termination issued during these protected periods is null and void. The employer must wait until the protected period ends before proceeding.
What is a mutual termination agreement and when should it be used? A mutual termination agreement (MTA) is a written document signed by both the employer and the employee that records their consent to end the employment relationship on agreed terms. Notice periods are typically waived. Severance isn’t mandatory but can be negotiated. The MTA is often the most practical exit route when both parties are willing, particularly when a contested termination would be riskier or more disruptive.
What happens if a written termination notice isn’t issued in Romania? A termination without a written notice is null and void under the Romanian Labour Code. The employer must issue a written termination decision that states the grounds and the effective date. This applies to all employer-initiated terminations. The same rule applies to MTAs: the written agreement must exist and be signed by both parties.
