The Romanian employment contract: mandatory clauses, types and checks

The individual employment contract (contractul individual de muncă, CIM) is the document that turns an understanding into a legal employment relationship. A missing clause or a wrong code is not an administrative detail: it can block registration in the register or make a provision you were relying on unenforceable. Here is the full structure and the points where things go wrong.

Written form and the moment of conclusion

The contract must be concluded in writing, in Romanian, before work begins. The obligation to conclude it lies with the employer.

The golden rule, with direct consequences: the contract must be signed and registered in REGES-Online at the latest on the day before work begins. Someone working before those formalities constitutes undeclared work — and since 2026 the fine reaches up to 40,000 lei per person, with a cumulative cap of up to 1,000,000 lei.

Mandatory elements

A valid contract must contain, as a minimum:

• the parties — full identification of the employer and the employee;
• the duration of the contract — indefinite (the rule) or fixed-term (the exception, with justification);
• the place of work — the registered office, the work point, or a statement that it is mobile;
• the position/occupation, with the corresponding COR code (the Romanian classification of occupations);
• the job duties — usually by reference to the job description, annexed to the contract;
• the criteria for evaluating professional performance;
• the specific risks of the position;
• the date from which the contract takes effect;
• the duration of annual leave;
• the conditions for giving notice and its length;
• the base salary, other components of remuneration and the payment frequency;
• normal working time, expressed in hours per day and hours per week;
• an indication of the applicable collective labour agreement, if any;
• the length of the probation period, if one is agreed.

The absence of some of these elements does not automatically void the contract, but it creates legal uncertainty — and in a dispute, interpretation tends to favour the employee.

Special clauses (optional, but with strict rules)

Beyond the mandatory elements, the law permits specific clauses — each with its own validity conditions:

• Professional training clause — who bears the costs and what obligation to stay follows from them.
• Non-compete clause — it takes effect only if it specifies concretely the prohibited activities, the third parties, the geographic area, the duration (maximum 2 years after termination) and, crucially, a monthly indemnity of at least 50% of the average gross earnings over the previous 6 months. Without the indemnity, the clause is not valid.
• Mobility clause — for positions without a fixed place of work, with additional benefits in cash or in kind.
• Confidentiality clause — the obligation not to disclose information during and after the contract.

The most common error here: a non-compete clause copied from a template, with no indemnity — practically unusable.

Contract types

• Indefinite term — the rule. Any other form is an exception that must be justified.
• Fixed term — only in the cases provided by law, with a maximum duration and a limited number of successive renewals.
• Part time — must expressly state the working time and the distribution of the schedule; the employee has the same rights, granted proportionally where relevant.
• Temporary agency work (through a temporary work agent) and home working / telework — with additional specific provisions.

Amending the contract: the addendum

Any change to an essential element (salary, position, schedule, place of work, duration) is made through an addendum (act adițional), concluded before it takes effect, and reported in REGES. The exceptions — situations where the law allows a temporary unilateral change (delegation, secondment, force majeure) — are limited and strictly interpreted.

A frequent practical problem arises here: the change is applied in fact (the person receives a different salary) but the addendum is signed “when we have time”. The discrepancy between reality, contract and REGES is precisely what an inspection checks.

Common mistakes

1. Wrong or withdrawn COR code — blocks registration in REGES; the classification is updated frequently.
2. Missing or generic job description — weakens any later disciplinary procedure.
3. Probation period above the legal limit — maximum 90 calendar days for execution roles, 120 for management roles.
4. Salary below the guaranteed minimum gross — an administrative offence, with effects in reporting too.
5. Late addendum after a pay rise.
6. Contract signed on the day work begins, rather than before.

Frequently asked questions

What must an individual employment contract contain? The parties, the duration, the place of work, the position with its COR code, the duties, the evaluation criteria, the risks of the position, the effective date, annual leave, notice, salary, working time, the applicable collective agreement and the probation period (if there is one).

When must the contract be registered in REGES? At the latest on the day before work begins. Work performed before registration may be classified as undeclared work.

Is a non-compete clause valid without an indemnity? No. The clause takes effect only if it specifies concretely the activities, the third parties, the area, the duration (max. 2 years) and a monthly indemnity of at least 50% of the average gross earnings over the previous 6 months.

How is an employment contract amended? Through an addendum signed by both parties before the change takes effect, followed by reporting in REGES.

Can the contract be signed electronically? Yes. The framework allows the contract and its addenda to be concluded in electronic form, with an electronic signature of the level required by law — but the employer cannot force the employee to use this form.

See also the documents you need when hiring and the employee personnel file.

How Workly helps

Workly’s contracts module generates the employment contract with all mandatory elements filled in from the employee record, validates the COR code against the current classification (so you do not hit a rejection in REGES) and prepares the data for registration in the register before the first day of work.

Salary or position changes generate the addendum from the same data source, so the contract, the personnel file and the reporting stay consistent — removing exactly the discrepancy inspectors look for. Contracts and annexes (including the job description) live in the digital personnel file, encrypted and with role-based access, while documents with deadlines (fixed term, probation period) are tracked with alerts before they expire.

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Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not legal advice. Requirements for the individual employment contract may change — always check the framework in force (the Labour Code, Codul Muncii) or consult a specialist before drafting or amending a contract.