The activity of day labourers in Romania is regulated by Law no. 52 of 15.04.2011, with subsequent amendments and additions.
Day labourers may perform activities of an occasional nature, without concluding an individual employment contract.
A day labourer is a natural person, Romanian or foreign citizen, who has the capacity to work and who carries out unskilled activities of an occasional nature for a beneficiary or his representative, in return for remuneration.
The beneficiary of the work is the establishment for which the day labourer carries out unskilled work on an occasional basis. Beneficiaries of works can be legal entities, authorized individuals, individual enterprises, family enterprises and administrative-territorial units that can use day labourers both for unskilled activities of an occasional nature and for the maintenance of green spaces in the public domain.
The activity must be of an occasional nature, which is carried out on an incidental, sporadic or accidental basis and is not of a permanent nature.
The duration of the occasional activity is a minimum of one day, corresponding to 8 hours of work. The daily working time of a day labourer may not exceed 12 hours, or 6 hours for minor workers who are capable of working.
Even if fewer hours are agreed, the day labourer will be paid for the equivalent of at least 8 hours of work.
No person may be employed as a day labourer unless he or she has reached the age of 16. By exception, minors aged between 15 and 16 may work as day labourers only with the consent of their parents or legal representatives.
No day labourer may work for the same beneficiary for more than 90 days in any calendar year.
The beneficiary may not use a person for more than 25 calendar days continuously.
By exception, in certain fields of activity, day labourers may work for a period not exceeding 180 days cumulatively during a calendar year (agriculture, forestry, viticulture, fruit, vegetables, flowers, fish, extensive livestock farming through seasonal grazing of cattle, horses, seasonal activities in botanical gardens, as well as in research-development-innovation activities in the agricultural field of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences “Gheorghe Ionescu-Sisesti”, its subordinate research-development institutes, centres and resorts and national institutes, agricultural and forestry education institutions).
A person may not work on a daily basis for more than 120 calendar days regardless of the number of beneficiaries, except for day labourers working in agriculture, forestry, viticulture, fruit, vegetables, flowers, fish, extensive animal husbandry through seasonal grazing of cattle and horses, seasonal activities in botanical gardens, as well as in research, development and innovation activities in the agricultural field of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences “Gheorghe Ionescu-Sisesti”, its subordinate research and development institutes, centres and resorts and national institutes, agricultural and forestry education institutions.
In the field of extensive livestock farming through traditional seasonal grazing of sheep, goats or cattle in a semi-free system, the period during which a day labourer may work for the same beneficiary may not exceed 180 cumulative days during a calendar year. In this area, the beneficiary is obliged to pay a flat rate of 10% of the guaranteed gross national minimum wage in force on the date of payment for each worker, according to the income/person norm established by law. The lump sum is paid once a year, in accordance with the conditions established by joint order of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Minister of Labour and Social Justice and the Minister of Public Finance. From the lump sum, the amounts of the social security contribution due according to the provisions of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, with subsequent amendments and additions, shall be transferred to the state social security budget, conferring on the day labourer the status of insured in the public pension system.
It is not allowed for day labourers to carry out work for the benefit of a third party, except for activities for which the beneficiary has concluded service contracts with third parties.
The following obligations must be met when employing day labourers:
- Establishment, completion and submission of the electronic register of day labourers, before the start of the activity by each person who is going to be in a working relationship with the beneficiary; submission of the electronic register of day labourers to the competent bodies;
- Providing training and information to the day labourer on the activity he/she is going to perform, the risks and dangers to which he/she may be exposed in the exercise of the activity, as well as on the rights of the day labourer, under the conditions provided by this law. The training takes place daily, before the beginning of the activity;
- Payment to the day labourer, at the end of each working day, of the agreed remuneration;
- The provision, at their own expense, of the work and protective equipment required due to the nature and specific nature of the activity carried out by the day labourer.
For the work performed, the day labourer is entitled to remuneration the amount of which is established by direct negotiation between the parties.
The amount of the gross hourly remuneration agreed between the parties may not be less than the value/hour of the basic gross national minimum wage guaranteed in payment (for activities in the agricultural and construction sectors, the gross minimum wage in these sectors is used) and is paid at the end of each working day or at the end of the week.
Proof of payment of remuneration is provided by the signature of the day labourer in the Register.
The remuneration received by the day laborer is subject to income tax according to the provisions of Law 227/2015 – Tax Code with subsequent amendments and additions.
Calculation, payment and declaration of the tax is the responsibility of the beneficiary.
For the remuneration of day labourers, the contribution due to the state social security budget (CAS) is due, according to the provisions of Law 227/2015 – Tax Code with subsequent amendments and additions, giving the day labourer the quality of insured in the public pension system.
The calculation, payment and declaration of the contribution due to the state social insurance budget (CAS) for the income earned from the activity of day labourers are the responsibility of the beneficiary.
Day labourers may only carry out unskilled, occasional activities for a beneficiary, only in the fields of activity established by law, including: agriculture, hunting and related services, forestry, fishing and aquaculture, catering activities for events, restaurants, bars, hotels and other accommodation facilities, sports centres and clubs, zoos, botanical gardens, landscape and green space maintenance, market research and public opinion polling activities.