A Government Ordinance from the 4th of August introduces a series of changes in the Labour Code. The notion of “undeclared employment” now has a legal definition and is punishable. An employer using undeclared employment can be sanctioned with a fine and the Territorial Labour Inspectorates can also decide to suspend the activity of the workplace, where the undeclared employment was used. The activity can be resumed only if the fine is paid and the employer proves that all the deficiencies were remedied. The undeclared employment can occur when the employer does not conclude the employment agreement in writing at least one day before the actual beginning of activity, when the employer does not register the employment agreement in the general electronic registry, when the employer receives at work an employee that has a suspended employment agreement (e.g. during medical leave) and when the employer receives at work outside working hours a part-time employee. Also of importance for employers, is a new provision stating that each employer has to keep a strict evidence of the actual working time of each employee (evidence that should include the starting hour and the finishing hour). The way that this evidence should be kept is not regulated, meaning that each employer should implement an internal rule on keeping track of each employee. Some employers have an electronic tracking system with individually assigned cards, but in practice this has proven to be an inaccurate way of tracking working hours. A traditional way of tracking working hours is a signed register that is verified by a supervisor.
Romania