A guide to working time (Codul Muncii): the 8h/day and 40h/week norm, the 48h maximum, shift work, night work, the meal break and the mandatory rest periods.
Translated from Romanian. This article covers Romanian labour and tax law; the Romanian version is canonical and is updated first.
Working time looks simple — “eight hours a day” — but the Labour Code (Codul Muncii) contains precise rules on maximum duration, shifts, night work, breaks and rest, which the employer has to observe and be able to prove. Here is the full framework.
The normal duration of working time is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week for a full-time employee. Beyond that norm, time worked becomes, as a rule, overtime. The maximum legal duration of working time may not exceed, on average, 48 hours a week, including overtime, calculated over a reference period.
The law allows several ways of organising working time:
The form chosen must be provided for in the contract or in the internal rules and must be reflected in the time records.
Shift work means employees rotate across posts, at different times, on a continuous or semi-continuous schedule. The organisation of shifts must observe the minimum rest periods and, where the shifts fall within the night window, the rules on night work.
Night work is work performed between 22:00 and 06:00. An employee is a “night worker” if they perform at least 3 hours of night work out of their daily schedule, or a significant proportion (around 30%) of their monthly working time within that window. Compensation takes the form either of a schedule shortened by one hour with no reduction in pay, or of a premium of at least 25% of the base salary. Certain categories (pregnant women, young people under 18) have special protection and restrictions on night work.
Where the schedule exceeds 6 hours, the employee is entitled to a meal break (art. 134). For young people under 18, the break is at least 30 minutes where work exceeds four and a half hours. As a rule, the meal break is not included in working time and is not paid, unless the contract or the internal rules provide otherwise.
The employer has a duty to keep a record of the working hours performed by each employee (art. 119 of the Codul Muncii) and to make it available to inspectors on request. That record is the basis for the correct calculation of salaries, overtime and premiums.
Workly’s time tracking automatically marks breaks, shifts and night work, separates time actually worked from rest and flags hours beyond the norm. That way, the record required by art. 119 is complete and auditable, and the calculation of premiums (night work, overtime) starts from real data rather than estimates. For questions such as “what premium applies to night work?”, the internal assistant Modi answers deterministically, from the configured rules — without inventing anything.
Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not legal advice. The rules on working time depend on the specific situation and may change — always check the framework in force at the official source (Codul Muncii, Monitorul Oficial) or consult a specialist before taking a decision.
Night work guide: the 22:00–06:00 window, the 3-hour test, the choice between a schedule shortened by one hour and the 25% premium, medical examinations and protected categories.
Shift planning guide: the 12-hour daily rest and the 48-hour weekly one, night shifts, uneven schedules, the 4-month reference period and the rules on communicating the roster.
Overtime calculation step by step: the hourly rate, the minimum 75% premium, compensation with time off within 90 days, combining with the night premium and public holidays.
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