What should employers in Romania be aware of

After an atypical summer holiday season, in an equally particular return-to-work context, employers should be mindful of several pieces of legislation recently enacted, including: (I) Law No. 167/2020 on moral harassment at the workplace, (II) Order of the Labour Ministry No. 1376/2020 on the categories of goods to be purchased and the procedure to be followed for obtaining teleworking state support, and (III) GEO No. 147/2020 on paid days off granted to parents for the supervision of the children in case of suspension of school and pre-schools face-to-face courses.

Without intending an exhaustive overview, this note aims to provide a brief outline of the related main points employers should consider under the context above.

I. MORAL HARASSMENT AT THE WORKPLACE

In brief, Government Ordinance No. 137/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discriminations and Law No. 202/2002 on equal opportunities and treatment for women and men have just been amended, to expressly define moral harassment at the workplace, as well as to regulate new employer-related obligations and corresponding sanctions.

A. What is moral harassment at the workplace?

• any behaviour under any of the following forms - hostile/unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions/gestures, exercised with regard to an employee by another employee who is his/her manager or a direct report and/or an employee hierarchically comparable, in relation to employment relationships, with the purpose or effect of deteriorating or causing a deterioration of the working conditions by affecting an employee’s rights or dignity, physical or mental health or compromising his/ er professional future
• any behaviour that, by its systematic nature, may affect an employee or a group of employees’ dignity, physical or mental health, endangering their work or deteriorating the working environment
• stress and physical exhaustion

B. Employers’ TO DOs

1. take measures to prevent and fight acts of moral harassment at the workplace, including by providing in the internal regulation disciplinary sanctions for employees committing moral harassment at the workplace
2. not establish, in any form, internal rules or measures that oblige, determine or encourage employees to commit moral harassment at the workplace
3. ensure a workplace free of moral harassment - no employee to be sanctioned, dismissed or discriminated, in any way, due to rejection of moral harassment at the workplace

C. Exposure in case of non-compliance

• Court measures: in case of litigation, if the court ascertains a deed of moral harassment at the workplace, it may order to the employer – as appropriate:

• to take all measures to stop these
• to reinstate the employee on the same position (if relevant)
• to pay to the employee a compensation equal to the salary rights he/she was deprived of (if relevant)
• to pay to the employee compensatory and moral damages
• to pay to the employee an amount of money for the necessary psychological counselling for a reasonable period of time determined by the occupational physician
• to amend the disciplinary records of the employee

• CNCD measures: additionally, stopping the moral harassment at the workplace, as well as paying necessary psychological counselling can also be imposed by the Romanian Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD), if approached by employeeEmployer administrative liability:

• breach of B.1 above is an administrative offence, sanctioned with fines up to approx. EUR 10,500
• breach of B.2 above is an administrative offence, sanctioned with fines up to approx. EUR 41,500
• failure to observe CNCD-imposed above-mentioned measures is an administrative offence, sanctioned with fines up to approx. EUR 41,500; however, payment of such fine does not release the employer from its other obligations as established by CNCD

II. PURCHASING IT EQUIPMENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR TELEWORKERS – FOLLOW-UP ON CATEGORIES OF GOODS to be purchased and PROCEDURE to be followed

A. Scope

In brief, employers may benefit of an allowance of approx. EUR 520 for each employee having worked – during the state of emergency – under the teleworking regime for at least 15 business days – allowance to be mandatorily used to purchase technological services and goods that are necessary for teleworking.

Technological services are defined as means related to the information and communication technology that, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the employer is bound to provide to the teleworker under Law no. 81/2018 on teleworking.

The CATEGORIES of GOODS listed by Order no. 1376/2020 are: (i) laptop/notebook, (ii) tablets, (iii) smartphones, (iv) peripheral equipment (input & output devices) to categories (i)-(iii), (v) equipment necessary for Internet connection of goods in categories (i)-(iii), (vi) operating systems and software applications licenses for goods in categories (i)-(iii).

B. Procedure

• submit via online platform aici.gov.ro documentation following statutory templates. This seems to include information on the number of days worked under teleworking regime during the state of emergency, number, as well as the number and date of the employment contract amendment on telework as per REVISAL etc.
• receive the allowance within 10 days, as a rule, after the competent unemployment agency issues the approval decision
• within 30 days after receiving the funds, the employer must submit via the same platform evidence of having used the funds for the appropriate purpose (scans of invoices from IT suppliers etc.). If this deadline is not observed, the employer must reimburse the funds received in full.

III. PAID DAYS OFF FOR PARENTS IN CASE OF SCHOOLS/PRE-SCHOOLS SUSPENSION

In brief, one of the parents is entitled, upon request, to paid days off to supervise their children for as long as teaching activities are limited or suspended in schools or pre-schools due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This is applicable during and after the state of alert, but not later by the end of the 2020/2021 school year.

A. Eligibility criteria include:

• having a child under the age of 12 or a child with disabilities up to the age of 26 enrolled in schools or pre-schools
• none of the parents is on annual leave, unpaid leave or (any type) child-raising leave
• none of the parents is on technical unemployment
• both parents obtain some form of taxable income (thus, one parent is not eligible if the other parent does not obtain any form of (taxable) income, including, from independent, agricultural, cultural etc. activity)

B. Indemnity:

• the employer will pay the day-value corresponding to 75% of the monthly base gross salary, but not more than the day-value corresponding to EUR 840 monthly base gross salary (which represents 75 % of the nationwide average monthly gross salary) and will further recover it from the state following the procedure established by law.

Employer failure to grant such time off at employee’s request may trigger employer’s administrative liability exposing it to fines capped at approx. EUR 4,500.