The job description: what it must contain and how to write it

The job description (fișa postului) is the document most companies fill in formally, once, then forget in a file — until the day they need it to justify an appraisal, a sanction or a dismissal. That is when they discover it is too generic to support anything. Here is how to write one that actually works.

What it is and where the obligation comes from

The job description sets out the concrete duties of an employee in a given post. The Labour Code (Codul Muncii) requires the CIM (contractul individual de muncă — the individual employment contract) to state the duties of the post, and in practice these are set out in detail in the job description, which becomes an annex to the contract.

Being an annex to the contract, it has two important consequences:

• it is signed by the employee (proof that it was brought to their attention);
• changing the essential duties requires the employee’s agreement, through an act adițional (an addendum to the employment contract) — not by silently swapping the document in the file.

The structure of a useful job description

1. Identification of the post

• the job title and the COR code (the occupation code from the national classification);
• the department and the place of work;
• the level of the post (operational / managerial).

2. Organisational relationships

• hierarchical — who they report to, who they coordinate;
• functional and collaborative — which departments they work with;
• representative — whether they represent the company in dealings with third parties.

3. Requirements of the post

• the education and qualifications needed;
• minimum experience;
• competences and skills;
• mandatory authorisations (where the law requires them).

4. Duties, tasks and responsibilities The central part. The practical rule: action verbs, measurable results, no umbrella phrasing. “Ensures the smooth running of the activity” means nothing and cannot support any appraisal. “Prepares report X monthly, by the 5th of the following month” can be verified.

5. Performance appraisal criteria Linked directly to the duties. The Labour Code requires the CIM to contain the appraisal criteria — the job description is where they become concrete.

6. Working conditions and specific risks Working hours, work environment, travel, risk factors — an element that ties in with SSM (occupational health and safety) and with the fitness-for-work certificate from the occupational medicine provider.

7. Signatures and date Employee, line manager, the employer’s representative. Without the employee’s signature, enforceability against them is questionable.

What it is actually used for

• On hiring — it clarifies expectations from day one and reduces turnover caused by misunderstandings.
• In appraisals — it provides the objective basis; without written criteria, an appraisal is an opinion.
• In disciplinary proceedings — you prove that the conduct complained of was a duty the employee had taken on. Without a job description, “they did not do their job” is hard to sustain.
• In dismissal for professional inadequacy (necorespundere profesională) — it is the reference document; a generic job description makes the procedure fragile.
• In a reorganisation — it shows whether a post was genuinely abolished or merely renamed.
• In recruitment — it becomes the basis of the job advert.

Common mistakes

1. A job description copied off the internet, without being adapted to the reality of the company.
2. Vague duties — “carries out any other tasks assigned by management” as the only real clause. Wording of that kind cannot justify a sanction.
3. Unsigned by the employee — and therefore unenforceable against them.
4. Not updated for years on end, even though the post has changed completely.
5. A COR code that does not match the real duties — a problem at registration in REGES (the General Register of Employee Records) too.
6. No appraisal criteria, even though the contract requires them.
7. Changed unilaterally by swapping the document in the file, without an addendum.

How detailed it should be

Detailed enough for a third party (an inspector, a judge) to understand what the person was supposed to do; flexible enough that you do not have to rewrite it at every minor adjustment. A practical balance: the main duties listed concretely, plus a clause on related tasks confined to the field of the post — not an unlimited one.

Frequently asked questions

Is a job description mandatory? The contract must state the duties of the post, and the job description is the standard way of doing that, as an annex to the CIM. In practice, its absence creates problems in appraisals, discipline and inspections.

Who draws up the job description? The employer, as a rule through the line manager of the post together with HR. It is signed by the employee, by the manager and by the employer’s representative.

Can the job description be changed without the employee’s agreement? Changing the essential duties means changing the contract, so it requires the employee’s agreement and an addendum. Minor adjustments, within the limits of the post, are permissible.

How does the job description relate to the COR code? The COR code in the contract must correspond to the real occupation described in the job description. A mismatch creates problems at registration in REGES and in reporting.

Can a job description be used in disciplinary proceedings? Yes — it is in fact the central document. It proves that the obligation breached had been taken on. A generic or unsigned job description seriously weakens the procedure.

See also the individual employment contract, the internal rules of procedure and the company organisation chart.

How Workly helps

A job description loses its value when it is “somewhere in a folder” and nobody knows whether it is the signed version. In Workly, the job description sits as an annex to the contract in the employee’s digital file, with versioning — you can see which version was in force on a given date, which is essential in a dispute.

Proof of acknowledgement is kept with a timestamp, alongside the one for the internal rules, solving the enforceability problem. When duties change, the addendum is generated from the same source, and the COR code is validated against the updated classification, so that the occupation in the contract matches the one in the job description and the one reported in REGES. The reporting structure from the job descriptions feeds the organisation chart, built from real personnel data rather than from a drawing kept separately.

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Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not legal advice. The requirements on job duties and appraisal may change — always check the framework in force (the Labour Code) or consult a specialist.