Telework from another country: what the employer must check before saying yes

“Can I work for a month from Spain?” or “We’re moving to Portugal, can we stay on the team?” are increasingly common requests in companies with office staff. A “yes” said out of goodwill can have consequences nobody thought about: contributions owed in another country, an income tax problem for the employee, registration duties for the company. The telework law makes no distinction by country, but contributions, tax and the company’s risks all change once a border is involved. Below you will find what the contract must contain, which country collects the contributions, how tax residence is determined and what to check before you approve.

The article covers the case where the employee asks, and the company agrees, to work remotely from another country. If the company itself sends the employee abroad, that is a secondment or a posting — see secondment and posting. The difference between telework and home-based work is in the dedicated article.

The Romanian framework: telework has no border, but it has conditions

Legea 81/2018 defines telework as the form of work organisation in which the employee performs their duties, regularly and voluntarily, in a place other than the one organised by the employer, using information and communication technology (art. 2 lit. a). It has no special rules for a place in another country, so the same requirements apply as for telework within Romania:

• Agreement of both parties. Telework is expressly provided for in the employment contract or in an act adițional (an addendum to the employment contract) (art. 3(1)), and the employee’s refusal cannot be sanctioned (art. 3(2)). By the same logic, the law does not, as a rule, give the employee the right to choose the country: if the company does not agree, there is no telework from abroad.
• Recording of hours. The obligation under art. 119 of the Labour Code stays, and the contract must provide the way hours are recorded (art. 5(2) lit. e). See time tracking under the Labour Code.
• Health and safety and oversight. The employer has specific obligations towards the teleworker (art. 7), and the teleworker must, among other things, inform the employer about the conditions at the place where they work and follow the restrictions set for the internet networks used (art. 8(2)). The law provides for authorities’ access to telework locations (art. 9); when the location is in another country, an on-site check is hard to carry out, so what you have set out in the contract matters all the more.

What to write in the contract or the addendum

A telework contract contains the usual elements of art. 17(3) of the Labour Code and, in addition, those listed in art. 5(2) of Legea 81/2018. The most important of these when the employee is in another country:

Element required by law	Why it matters from abroad
Express statement that the employee works under telework (lit. a)	Without it, a fine of 10,000 lei per person (art. 11 lit. a).
The period and/or days on which the employee works at a workplace organised by the employer (lit. b)	Shows what share of the time is worked in each country — the basis for the 25% threshold below.
The schedule for checking the activity and the way it is checked (lit. d), recording of hours (lit. e)	Worth adding the reference time zone as well.
The parties’ responsibilities depending on the place of telework, including health and safety (lit. f)	Without a place, the contract does not say who is responsible for what.
The conditions under which the employer bears the costs (lit. j)	This is where the extra costs generated by the host country belong.

Missing the clauses in lit. b)–j) is punished with a fine of 5,000 lei (art. 11 lit. d).

A point missing from many templates: the clause on the place or places of telework (formerly lit. c) was repealed by OUG 36/2021, with effect from 6 May 2021. It is no longer a specific clause of Legea 81/2018, but the Labour Code still requires the place of work, or a statement that the employee works in different places (art. 17(3) lit. b)), and art. 5(2) says that a telework contract also contains the elements of art. 17(3). Lit. f), for its part, ties the parties’ responsibilities to the place of telework. In cross-border telework, put the country, the address and the duration in the document: you then have proof of the factual situation on which the rest of the analysis rests.

What the Labour Code requires when the employee works in another country. When the employee is going to work abroad, art. 18(1) obliges the employer to inform them in good time, before departure, about the country or countries and the duration of the work abroad, the currency and method of payment, cash or in-kind benefits, climate conditions, the main labour rules of that country, local customs whose breach would endanger their life, freedom or personal safety and, where applicable, the repatriation conditions. The text does not distinguish according to who asked for the move: it applies when the request comes from the employee too, not only when the company sends them. The first three categories must also be written into the employment contract, so into the addendum (art. 18(2)):

• the country or countries and the duration of the period of work abroad (the start date and, if the arrangement has an end date, that date);
• the currency in which pay is made and the methods of payment;
• the cash or in-kind benefits linked to working abroad.

What you add yourself (required neither by Legea 81/2018 nor by art. 18 of the Labour Code):

• the review date of the arrangement;
• the employee’s obligation to give timely notice of any change of country or residence and to keep a record of the days spent in other states;
• the company’s right to end the arrangement, with notice, if the legal situation changes;
• the employee’s confirmation that they have the right to live and work in that country (visa or permit, as applicable) — that is a matter of the host state’s law.

Social contributions: which country collects them

This is the most important decision. Within the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and its implementing Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 apply. The principle: a person is subject to the legislation of a single state (art. 11(1)), as a rule the one in which they actually carry out their work (art. 11(3)(a)). The guidance note of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems (note AC 137/23, of 21 June 2023) explains that the place of work is the place where the person concretely carries out the activity — so telework from another state counts too.

Situation	Applicable legislation	Worth knowing
Temporary stay in another country (weeks or months), with the company’s agreement; residence stays in Romania	In principle Romanian, through the posting rule (art. 12: anticipated duration of at most 24 months)	The guidance accepts occasional, agreed telework as a posting; during it, telework must cover 100% of working time. An A1 document is required.
Employee resident in another country, who regularly works part of the time from home and the rest at the company’s premises in Romania	Art. 13: if a substantial part is worked in the state of residence, that state’s law; otherwise, the law of the company’s state (Romania)	Under 25% of working time and/or remuneration in the state of residence is an indicator that it is not a substantial part (overall assessment).
Employee who works 100% from the state of residence, with no time limit	Art. 11(3)(a): the law of the state where the work is carried out	No longer a posting, because it is not temporary.

From 25% upwards, the state of residence generally becomes the competent one. The assessment is an overall one and takes into account the situation projected for the next 12 calendar months (art. 14(8) and (10) of Regulation 987/2009).

The framework agreement on cross-border telework. Since 1 July 2023, signatory states allow, at the joint request of the employer and the employee, the employee to remain insured in the employer’s state if they work in the state of residence less than 50% of the time, for a maximum of 3 years at a time, renewable. The condition: both states must be signatories. Romania is not on the list published by Belgium, the depositary state, so for a Romanian company the simplified route is not open. What remains is an individual or group agreement between the states under art. 16 of Regulation 883/2004, which requires the consent of both states and of the person; CNPP (the National House of Public Pensions) publishes forms for requests under art. 16, including for commercial companies.

If the other state is competent. An employer whose registered office is outside the competent state must fulfil the obligations under that state’s legislation, including paying contributions, as if it had its registered office there (art. 21(1) of Regulation 987/2009). The employee and the employer may agree that the employee makes the payments on the company’s behalf, with notice to the competent institution, but the company’s obligations remain (art. 21(2)).

The A1 document proves which social security legislation applies to a person. In Romania it is issued by CNPP; applications can be submitted online through the RODPA1 application (a1.cnpp.ro), which CNPP recommends.

There is no 183-day rule for contributions — that threshold belongs to income tax. What matters is the place of work, the 25% threshold (50% in the framework agreement) and the duration of the posting.

Countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland. Regulation 883/2004 does not apply. What matters are the bilateral social security agreements Romania has with a limited number of states (the list is at CNPP: for example the Republic of Moldova, Türkiye, Canada, Serbia and, from 1 September 2026, the United States), and for the United Kingdom there are separate rules, in the EU–UK trade agreement. Where there is no agreement, there is no common rule choosing a single state, and the risk is that both will claim contributions. For contributions owed in Romania, see salary contributions 2026.

Income tax: tax residence and the two 183-day thresholds

An employee can stay insured in Romania and still be taxed elsewhere, or the other way round.

Tax residence (art. 7 pt. 28 of the Fiscal Code): a person is resident in Romania if they have their domicile here, if their centre of vital interests is here, or if they are present in Romania for more than 183 days in total, in any period of 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year concerned. Residents are taxed on income from any source, in Romania and abroad (art. 59(1)); non-residents, on salary, only for the dependent activity carried out in Romania (art. 59(1) lit. d).

So an employee domiciled in Romania does not lose residence just because they work from another country for a while. If they move to a state with which Romania has a double taxation convention, they remain taxable in Romania on income from any source until the date their residence changes, proven by the tax residence certificate of that state (art. 59(5) and (6)). An employee who leaves for stays abroad exceeding 183 days in total, in any 12 consecutive months, files with the competent tax authority, 30 days before departure, the questionnaire on tax residence on leaving Romania (art. 230(7)).

Salary paid by the Romanian company for work abroad. The Fiscal Code excludes income from dependent activities carried out in a foreign state from salary income, but not income paid by an employer resident in Romania: that is taxable in Romania only if Romania has the right to tax it (art. 76(4) lit. o). ANAF (the tax authority) explains, in its materials, that the salary remains taxable in Romania if the period of presence in that state does not exceed the period in the convention and it is not borne by a permanent establishment of the employer in that state; otherwise it is taxed in the state where the work is done.

What it determines	The rule
Tax residence in Romania	More than 183 days in Romania in any 12 consecutive months ending in the year concerned (or domicile / centre of vital interests in Romania) — Fiscal Code, art. 7 pt. 28
Which state taxes the salary for work done abroad	The “period of presence” in the convention with that state — in treaties built on the OECD model, 183 days, but the wording differs from one treaty to another
Social contributions	There is no 183-day threshold (Regulation 883/2004)

Adjusting the tax withheld at source and any obligations in the host state are settled case by case, with a tax adviser.

The company’s risks beyond contributions

• Permanent establishment. An employee who works stably from another country can, under certain conditions, create a permanent establishment for the company there, with profit tax and registration duties. Not every home office is a permanent establishment. The Romanian Fiscal Code shows the logic: it is a place through which the activity of a non-resident is carried out, directly or through a dependent agent, for example a person who concludes contracts in the company’s name (art. 8(1) and (5)). Each state applies its own law and its treaty with Romania.
• The host country’s labour law. The contract can stay under Romanian law, but the choice of law cannot deprive the employee of the mandatory provisions of the law that would have applied in the absence of a choice — as a rule, that of the country where they habitually carry out their work (art. 8 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008, “Rome I”). Which rules become applicable depends on the country.
• Immigration status. The right to stay and work in a country is set by its law. Ask the employee for confirmation, especially for countries outside the EU.
• Personal data. Remote access to the company’s data from outside the EU is not in itself a “transfer” under chapter V of the GDPR — the employee is part of the controller, as EDPB Guidelines 05/2021 (example 8) explain — but the company remains responsible for security and must assess the risks in that country. See GDPR in HR and employee monitoring.

A special case: foreigners working from Romania for a company abroad

The reverse situation — someone employed by a company registered outside Romania, working remotely from Romania — has its own regime, that of the “digital nomad” (defined in art. 2 lit. n^4 of OUG 194/2002). Since April 2023 (Legea 69/2023), the Fiscal Code provides that a digital nomad’s salary, obtained from a company outside Romania, is not taxable in Romania (art. 228(1) lit. d), and digital nomads are excepted from the categories of contributors to the public pension system (art. 136 lit. b) and to social health insurance (art. 153(1) lit. b). All of this applies only while the nomad is present in Romania for at most 183 days in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year concerned.

For an employer in Romania the regime does not apply: it covers employees of companies registered outside Romania. If you are hiring a foreigner from outside the EU yourself, see hiring foreign workers.

Checklist before you approve

1. Company policy: do you accept telework from other countries, and under what conditions? A single answer protects you from unequal treatment between employees.
2. Type of situation: temporary stay, regular hybrid arrangement or a move of residence?
3. Country: EU, EEA or Switzerland, or outside them (bilateral agreement)?
4. Proportion: how many days or hours are worked in that country and how many at the office in Romania, over the next 12 months?
5. Tax residence: does the employee stay resident in Romania or move? What does the convention say?
6. Permanent establishment: can the employee’s role create obligations for the company in that country?
7. The addendum and the documents: the clauses under art. 5(2) of Legea 81/2018, the elements under art. 18(2) of the Labour Code (country and duration, currency and payment, benefits) and the specific ones; A1 or an individual agreement through CNPP.
8. Records: daily time tracking, with start and end time, so you can prove the days worked in each country.
9. The specialist: a written analysis from a tax adviser, before “yes”.

Frequently asked questions

Can an employee work from another country without the company’s agreement?

As a rule, no. Telework rests on the agreement of both parties and is provided for in the contract or an act adițional, and the law does not give the employee the right to choose the country. Their refusal to accept telework cannot be sanctioned, but that does not mean they can impose the location.

If the employee works from another EU country, are contributions still paid in Romania?

It depends. For a temporary, agreed stay with residence in Romania, as a rule yes, with an A1 document from CNPP. For an employee resident in another country, the proportion of work done there matters: from 25% upwards, the law of the state of residence generally applies, and if they work 100% from there, the law of that state.

Does the 183-day rule also apply to contributions?

No. It belongs to income tax: tax residence and, in double taxation conventions, deciding which state taxes the salary. For contributions, what matters is the place of work, the 25% threshold (50% in the framework agreement) and the duration of the posting.

Do I have to keep a record of hours for someone working from abroad?

Yes. The obligation under art. 119 of the Labour Code applies identically, and the contract must provide the way hours are recorded. A record with date and time also helps prove the days worked in each country.

Can a company in Romania hire a “digital nomad”?

The digital nomad regime covers employees of companies registered outside Romania who work from Romania. A Romanian employer hiring a foreigner applies the ordinary rules.

How Workly helps

Workly does not decide which country collects the contributions and does not issue A1 documents — those are for CNPP and your tax adviser. What you can do in the application is have the clean data the decision rests on: time tracking from the phone (a web app, PWA) or the browser, from anywhere, with the date and time of every clock-in; each employee’s work schedule, including telework, and the telework calendar in the Social module is built from data that already exists. Network restrictions and the location marker are optional: a restriction to the office network does not suit someone in another country, and the marker only records whether the clock-in happened inside the defined zone, as information to check later, not as a block. The addendum that formalises telework can be prepared from the contracts module. See also the mobile app.

---

Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not legal or tax advice. Cross-border social security and international taxation depend on the countries involved, the applicable treaties and the specific situation — get an analysis from a tax adviser or from CNPP before you approve telework from another country.