Navigating the complex legal landscape of the Romanian workforce requires a specialized employment lawyer in Romania. Our team provides expert guidance on labor law, from drafting individual employment agreements (C.I.M.) to handling complex dismissal procedures and employment litigation, for international companies, expatriates and local employers and employees.

What services do your employment lawyers in Romania offer?

Our Romanian lawyers are at the service of both employers and employees, with:

drafting new employment contracts and reviewing existing ones;
assistance with collective labor agreements;
support for employers hiring foreign personnel;
preparing internal regulations and other employment documents;
guidance during inspections by the Labor Inspectorate (ITM);
assistance in disciplinary matters, including the prior disciplinary investigation (cercetarea disciplinară prealabilă);
dismissal support for employers and employees;
employee incentive and stock-option programs and management agreements;
guidance on work accidents;
representation in employment disputes.

What are the conditions under which I can hire foreign workers in Romania?

Since Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) 32/2026 on foreigners’ access to the Romanian labor market, an employer that wants to hire workers from outside the EU must, as a rule, first register on the WorkinRomania.gov.ro platform. To be registered, the employer must meet, among others, the following conditions:

it has no outstanding debts to the Romanian state budget;
if it is a company, it has actually operated for at least one year in activities compatible with the occupations it wants to fill (with some exceptions);
it has not been sanctioned in the last six months for certain breaches of the rules on foreigners, the Labor Code or the rules on the electronic register of employees;
neither the employer nor its representatives, directors or shareholders have certain criminal convictions, and there are no national-security or money-laundering concerns.

An employer that wants to recruit non-EU workers directly, without a licensed placement agency, must also be authorized and entered in the Register of authorized employers. The conditions are stricter: for example, at least 24 months of activity, an average of at least 50 employees in the previous year, no health-and-safety or undeclared-work sanctions in the last 24 months, and a financial guarantee for each foreign worker.

The hiring procedure then runs as follows:

the employer, or a licensed placement agency, files a single application for the worker on WorkinRomania.gov.ro;
the worker applies at the Romanian consulate for a long-stay employment visa (type D/AM);
after arriving in Romania, the worker obtains from the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) a single permit, which covers both residence and work (or, for highly qualified workers, an EU Blue Card).

The separate work permit (aviz de muncă) that IGI used to issue no longer exists for new applications. Our Romanian employment lawyers can verify your eligibility to hire foreign employees, prepare the application and follow the file until the worker receives the residence document.

Are there any restrictions on hiring foreign employees in Romania?

Yes. Under GEO 32/2026, permanent, seasonal and cross-border workers from outside the EU, recruited through a placement agency or by an authorized employer, can be hired only for occupations included in the Shortage Occupations List (Lista ocupațiilor deficitare), approved by order of the Minister of Labor and updated periodically. Other categories, such as highly qualified workers, follow a separate route in which the employer files the application itself. The number of new non-EU workers admitted each year is also limited by a quota set by the Government.

These restrictions do not apply to citizens of EU and EEA states or Switzerland, who can work in Romania on the same terms as Romanian citizens. They only need to register their residence if they stay longer than three months.

The new rules are still settling: in 2026 the Shortage Occupations List was challenged in court and parts of the online procedure were suspended. We check the current position before any recruitment starts.

Can you help me draft employment agreements?

Yes. For employers and employees alike, we can assist with:

preliminary advice before the agreement is signed;
negotiating specific clauses: non-competition clauses, confidentiality clauses, mobility clauses, etc.;
drafting the individual employment agreement (C.I.M.);
registering the agreement in REGES-ONLINE, the electronic general register of employees, which replaced REVISAL on 1 January 2026;
clauses on the termination of the agreement.

I have a foreign company and my employees will work from Romania. Can you help?

Yes. Whether you hire people who live in Romania or relocate existing staff here, you can rely on us to set up the arrangement so that they work legally. We advise on the available options, such as employment directly by the foreign company or through a Romanian subsidiary or branch, and on the resulting obligations. Our services include:

assistance on the Romanian rules and requirements for foreign employers and expatriate employees;
assistance with the visas and the residence and work documents that foreign nationals need to work in Romania;
completing the formalities necessary for expatriates to work in Romania.

Do you also offer assistance in case of employee strikes?

Yes. We assist employers, including foreign-owned companies, that need guidance when their employees go on strike or start a collective labor dispute, including in the negotiations with the unions or the employees’ representatives.

What services associated with termination of employment do you offer?

preliminary advice for both employers and employees;
advice on terminating an individual employment agreement: the legal documents and the stages of the procedure;
assisting management in negotiations with unions on lay-off conditions;
assisting employees in negotiations with the employer on lay-off conditions.

Does your Romanian employment lawyer assist employees against unfair dismissal?

Yes. We advise clients to collect as much evidence as possible about their case, so that we can present it properly before the competent court. The deadline for challenging a dismissal decision is short and runs from the date the decision is communicated to you, so contact us as soon as you receive it.

Can you assist in employee transfers to Romania?

Definitely. If you want to bring employees from another country to Romania, whether by posting them or through an intra-company transfer, we represent you in completing the associated formalities.

Can you represent me as a foreign employee in Romania?

Yes. If you are moving to Romania to work, we are able to assist you with the following legal matters:

signing an individual employment agreement;
dismissals;
the special labor regime for expatriates;
the incentive programs for expatriates;
employment litigation.

Do you assist with employee incentive and stock-option programs?

Yes. Our services include:

legal assistance in implementing stock-option plans for employees of the Romanian subsidiaries of foreign companies;
reviewing the Romanian tax and data protection rules that apply to these programs;
drafting employment agreements for managers and management agreements for directors.

What type of labor litigation services do you offer in Romania?

Our team of Romanian lawyers assists clients in pre-litigation negotiation and in litigation concerning:

grievances under collective bargaining agreements and individual employment agreements;
termination of employment;
lay-offs;
repositioning within the company;
discrimination;
protection of the employer’s intellectual property rights in work created by employees.

Whether you are an employer hiring, restructuring or facing a dispute in Romania, or an employee who wants to protect your rights, let our team of attorneys in Romania take care of your legal matters, so you can focus on your business or on your career. Call us now for a free case evaluation; we are always here to help.

Cristian Darie

Meet Cristian Darie, a committed lawyer at Darie, Manea & Associates skilled in national and international legal matters. Contact our firm for legal assistance.

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Marcela Manea

Meet Marcela Manea, managing partner at Darie, Manea & Associates, a lawyer since 2006, guiding clients through complex legal matters in Romania.

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Oana Darie

Attorney at law: litigation, property restitution (ANRP) and real estate.

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Adriana Tugui

Adriana Țugui heads the litigation and arbitration department at Darie, Manea & Associates and has practised as a lawyer since 2007.

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Laurentia Gheorghe

Laurentia Gheorghe is a senior lawyer leading our Criminal Law and Business Crime Department in Romania. Contact Darie, Manea & Associates for criminal defense.

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