Days off for marriage, birth or bereavement: what art. 152 of the Codul Muncii provides, why in the private sector the number of days is set by the internal rules, and how to grant them.
Translated from Romanian. This article covers Romanian labour and tax law; the Romanian version is canonical and is updated first.
“How many days off do I get when I marry?” looks like a question with a fixed answer. In the Romanian private sector it is not — and this is where most of the misunderstandings between employees and HR come from. Here is why, and how to settle it properly.
Article 152 of the Labour Code (Codul Muncii) provides that employees are entitled to paid days off in the case of special family events or in other situations provided for by law.
Two essential points come from the text of the law itself:
What article 152 does not do is list the events and the number of days. It leaves those to the applicable collective labour agreement or to the internal rules.
Until 2011 there was a single national collective labour agreement, applicable to all employers, which set concrete figures: 5 days for the employee’s own marriage, 5 days for the birth of a child, 3 days for the death of a spouse/child/parents, and so on.
That national collective agreement no longer exists, and has not since 2011. The practical consequence, which many employers have not taken on board: in the private sector, the number of days is no longer imposed by law. It has to be set through:
If neither provides anything, the right under art. 152 remains theoretical — you have no criteria for granting it, and a refusal becomes a source of conflict.
The old figures (5 days for marriage and so on) still circulate online as if they were law. They are not. They are a useful benchmark when you draft your rules, not an obligation.
In the public sector the position is different: separate regulations (for example HG 250/1992 for certain categories) maintain concrete numbers of days.
Useful internal rules deal, for each event, with: the number of days, the supporting document and the deadline for requesting them. A reasonable set, in line with market practice:
| Event | Usual benchmark | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage of the employee | 5 days | marriage certificate |
| Birth of a child | 5 days (separate from paternity leave) | birth certificate |
| Marriage of a child | 2 days | marriage certificate |
| Death of a spouse, child, parents, parents-in-law | 3 days | death certificate |
| Death of grandparents, brothers, sisters | 1 day | death certificate |
| Blood donation | as provided by the special law | certificate |
The benchmarks above are indicative — you set them yourself, but once they are provided for in the rules they become binding on the company.
Unlike the days off for family events, carer’s leave (concediul de îngrijitor) has an express legal basis and a fixed number: the employee is entitled to 5 working days in a calendar year in order to provide care or support to a relative, or to a person in their household, who needs care for serious medical reasons.
It is granted on the basis of a request and supporting documents, and the period is not deducted from annual leave.
The Codul Muncii also provides for the employee’s right to be absent from work in unforeseen situations, caused by a family emergency arising from illness or accident, which make the employee’s immediate presence indispensable. The condition: prior notification of the employer.
These days are made up afterwards, by agreement between the parties — they are not additional days off, but a form of flexibility in exceptional situations, limited in number through the internal rules.
Public holidays (art. 139) are an entirely separate right: non-working days for all employees, paid, which are not deducted from leave and have nothing to do with personal events. Work performed on those days, where it is not compensated with time off, is paid with a premium of at least 100%.
How many days off do I get when I marry? In the private sector, as many as the applicable collective agreement or the company’s internal rules provide. The law (art. 152) guarantees the right, but does not fix the number. The usual benchmark in practice is 5 days.
Are they deducted from annual leave? No. Art. 152 expressly provides that these days are not included in the duration of the annual leave.
Are they paid? Yes, they are paid days off. They are not to be confused with unpaid leave.
What is carer’s leave? A distinct right, provided by law: 5 working days per calendar year to care for a relative or a person in the household with serious medical problems.
What do I do if the internal rules provide nothing? Update them. Without provisions, the right under art. 152 is left with no criteria for being granted, and ad-hoc decisions create unfairness and litigation risk.
See also the internal rules of procedure, the public holidays in 2026 and paternity leave.
The practical problem is not the legislation, but the record-keeping: who took how many days, for which event, with what supporting document. The Leave module in Workly treats these days as distinct absence types — separate from annual leave, so they do not use up the balance — each with its own rules configured from your internal rules.
The request is submitted digitally, with the supporting document attached and encrypted (civil status certificates are personal data), goes through the approval flow and is reflected automatically in the time records. That way, at an inspection or in a dispute, you can show exactly what was granted, to whom and on what basis — and the rules are applied uniformly, not case by case.
Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not legal advice. The number of days for family events depends on the applicable collective agreement and on the internal rules — check your own documents or consult a specialist.
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