The act adițional: when an employment contract addendum is required

The act adițional (an addendum to the employment contract) is the most postponed document in HR: the change is applied in fact (“from this month their salary is higher”), and the paperwork is signed “when we have time”. That gap between reality and document is exactly what an inspection looks for. Here is the rule and how it applies.

The basic rule

The individual employment contract may be amended only by agreement of the parties. Any change to an element of the contract requires an addendum, and it must be concluded before the change takes effect — not afterwards.

The exceptions are limited and expressly provided for: situations in which the law allows a temporary unilateral change (delegation, secondment, force majeure, disciplinary sanction) or the cases provided for by the collective agreement.

Which changes require an addendum

In practice, any essential element of the contract:

• the base salary, premiums and other components of remuneration;
• the position or occupation, including a change of COR code (the Romanian classification of occupations code);
• working time — moving from full time to part time or the other way round, a change in the distribution of the schedule;
• the place of work — moving to another work point;
• the duration of the contract — extending a fixed-term contract;
• the type of work and the job duties, where they change substantially;
• new special clauses (mobility, confidentiality, professional training).

The most frequent case in practice: an increase in the minimum wage by government decision. When the minimum goes up, every employee paid at that level needs an addendum — not just a change in the payroll software.

Addendum or annex?

The confusion is common, and the distinction is simple:

	Addendum	Annex
What it does	amends an existing clause	supplements the contract, without changing its clauses
Example	a change of salary or position	the job description, the GDPR notice
Requires the agreement of both parties	yes	as a rule yes, but it does not change entitlements
Reported in REGES	yes, if it changes reportable elements	no, as a rule

The job description is the best example of an annex: it describes the duties without changing the clauses of the contract. If, however, the duties change substantially, you end up with a change in the type of work — and therefore with an addendum.

What it must contain

• identification of the contract being amended: the number and date of the CIM (the individual employment contract);
• the parties, with full details;
• the clause being amended, set out clearly: what it provided before and what it provides from now on;
• the date from which it takes effect;
• the legal basis for the change, where relevant (for example the government decision on the minimum wage);
• a statement that the remaining clauses stay unchanged;
• the signatures of both parties and the date.

The addendum becomes an integral part of the contract and is kept in the personnel file, alongside the CIM.

Reporting in REGES

Changes concerning reportable elements — salary, position/COR, working time, duration of the contract — are submitted to REGES-Online (the General Register of Employee Records), within the deadlines provided for. This is where the most frequent risk appears: an addendum that is signed but not submitted, or submitted after the deadline.

A knock-on effect: premiums reported in REGES must have a counterpart in an addendum. Without one you get “orphan premiums” — entries in the register with no contractual basis, hard to justify in an inspection.

Common mistakes

1. An addendum signed after the change has already taken effect.
2. A change applied with no document — only in the payroll software.
3. An addendum for something that does not amend the contract (where an annex would have been enough).
4. Failing to submit the reportable change to REGES.
5. A missing effective date, which makes it impossible to establish from when it applies.
6. A minimum wage increase applied in bulk, without individual addenda.

Template: addendum (structure)

ADDENDUM No. ______ / date __________
to individual employment contract no. ______ / __________

Concluded between:
[Employer name], CUI (tax ID) ________, with registered office in ____________,
legally represented by ______________, as EMPLOYER

and

Mr/Ms ______________, CNP (personal numeric code) ______________,
resident in ____________, as EMPLOYEE

The parties agree to amend the individual employment contract
mentioned above, as follows:

Art. 1 — Starting on __________, [the amended clause]
is amended and shall read as follows:
_____________________________________________________
(previously: _________________________________________)

Art. 2 — Legal basis for the change: ________________

Art. 3 — The remaining contractual clauses stay unchanged.

This addendum forms an integral part of the individual
employment contract and has been concluded in two copies,
one for each party.

EMPLOYER                           EMPLOYEE
_______________                    _______________
Date: __________                   Date: __________

Frequently asked questions

When must the addendum be signed? Before the change takes effect. Signing it later leaves a period in which reality does not match the documents.

Do I need an addendum when the minimum wage goes up? Yes. An increase imposed by government decision is reflected in the contract through an addendum for each affected employee, plus reporting in REGES.

What is the difference between an addendum and an annex? The addendum amends an existing clause; the annex supplements the contract without changing its clauses (for example the job description).

What happens if the employee refuses to sign? The change cannot be imposed unilaterally, save for the exceptions provided by law (delegation, secondment, force majeure). Without agreement, the old clause stands.

Does it have to be reported in REGES? Yes, if the change concerns reportable elements: salary, position/COR, working time or the duration of the contract.

See also the individual employment contract, premiums in REGES and the minimum wage in 2026.

How Workly helps

Workly’s contracts module generates the addendum from the same data source as the contract: you change the salary or the position in the employee record, and the document is produced with the amended clause, the effective date and the legal basis filled in. There is no longer a gap between “I changed it in payroll” and “I signed the paperwork”.

For a change affecting several employees — such as a minimum wage increase — the addenda are generated in bulk, individually for each person. The reportable data is prepared for REGES, and premiums stay linked to the addendum that justifies them, eliminating orphan premiums. The documents sit in the digital personnel file, with versioning, so you always know which clause was in force on a given date.

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Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not legal advice. The rules on amending an employment contract depend on the specific situation — check the framework in force (the Romanian Labour Code) or consult a specialist.