Guide to the internal rules of procedure (ROI): the legal basis (art. 242 Labour Code), who must have them, minimum content, consultation, notification and enforceability.
Translated from Romanian. This article covers Romanian labour and tax law; the Romanian version is canonical and is updated first.
The internal rules of procedure (Regulamentul de Ordine Interioară, ROI) are the document that sets out the rules of conduct and discipline in a company. Without them — or with a set that has never been brought to employees’ attention — a disciplinary sanction can be struck down in court. Here is what they must contain and how to draft them properly.
The ROI is the internal act governing the organisation of work, discipline and the mutual rights and obligations within the company. The legal basis is art. 242 of the Labour Code (Codul Muncii), which sets out the mandatory minimum content. The rights and obligations in art. 39–40, which the ROI spells out, are explained in the rights and obligations of employer and employee.
All employers are required to draw up an ROI (art. 241 and art. 246(1) of the Labour Code), whatever their size — micro-enterprises included. An exemption for micro-enterprises had been introduced by OUG 37/2021, but the ordinance was rejected by Legea 275/2022, and arts. 241–243 of the Labour Code, in the text now in force, contain no derogation.
The ROI must be drawn up within 60 days of the acquisition of legal personality (art. 246(2) of the Labour Code). For existing employees, any amendment of the ROI is enforceable against them only after it has been brought to their attention.
Under the law, the ROI includes, as a minimum:
How to write the meal-break rule into the ROI is explained in the meal break under the Labour Code.
When drawing up or amending the ROI, the employer consults the employees’ representatives or the trade union, where one exists. Consultation does not mean mandatory agreement, but it is a procedural step that must not be skipped.
This is the critical point: the ROI produces effects in relation to an employee only after it has been brought to their attention (art. 243(3)), and the employer must bring it to their attention on their first working day (para. (1)). You need proof that they were made aware of it — a signature, a confirmation, a timestamp. Without that proof, the employer cannot rely on the ROI in a disciplinary procedure, and sanctions risk being annulled in court for lack of enforceability.
The ROI cannot conflict with the law or with the individual or collective employment contract. A clause in the ROI that unlawfully restricts employees’ rights is null and void. The ROI details and organises, but it cannot go below the legal minimum. How the ROI relates to the collective labour agreement is explained in the collective labour agreement in an SME.
Without an ROI (or with one that has not been brought to employees’ attention), the company loses the basis for disciplinary sanctions and exposes itself to litigation and to sanctions during inspections. In practice, discipline becomes difficult to enforce lawfully. During an inspection, the ROI with proof that employees were made aware of it is among the documents requested; the full list is in the documents needed at an ITM inspection.
Workly can hold the ROI in digital format, as a company-wide document visible to all employees and linked to the personnel file. Proof of acknowledgement — each employee’s signature or confirmation — remains a separate step that the application does not track.
Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not legal advice. The requirements on the ROI may change through new legislation — always check the framework in force at source (the Labour Code, the Labour Inspectorate, the Official Gazette) or consult a specialist before drawing up or amending the rules.
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