Dismissed in Romania: how to check whether it was lawful and what you can do within 45 days

Take a hypothetical example. On a Friday afternoon, your manager calls you into the office and hands you a sheet of paper: a decision terminating your employment contract. You sign to confirm receipt, pack your things and go home. What you do next often decides whether you can get your job or your money back.

Dismissal is the termination of the contract at the employer's initiative (Art. 58 of the Romanian Labour Code). The law allows it, but only for certain reasons and only under a precise procedure. Many dismissals fail in court not because the reason was invented, but because the employer skipped a step.

First: what kind of dismissal is it?

The Labour Code divides dismissals into two categories, each with its own rules.

• Reasons related to you (Art. 61): a serious breach or repeated breaches of work discipline; pre-trial detention or house arrest longer than 30 days; physical or mental unfitness established by the competent medical assessment bodies; or not being professionally suited to the job.
• Reasons not related to you (Art. 65): the abolition of your job. The law requires the abolition to be genuine and to have a real and serious cause. If your job "disappears" on paper and a month later someone else does the same work under a different title, that is a question you can raise in court.

What to check in the decision

• Written form and date of delivery. The decision takes effect on the date it is communicated to you (Art. 77). Write down the exact day you received it.
• The reasons. For dismissals for reasons related to you, the decision must set out the facts and the legal grounds and must state the deadline and the court for challenging it; otherwise it is absolutely void (Art. 62(3)). In every dismissal, the employer cannot rely in court on reasons other than those written in the decision (Art. 79).
• Notice. If you are dismissed for medical unfitness, for not being professionally suited or because your job was abolished, you are entitled to at least 20 working days' notice (Art. 75). The exception is professional unsuitability established during the probation period. The length of the notice must appear in the decision (Art. 76).
• Vacant jobs. In cases of medical unfitness and professional unsuitability, the employer must offer you other vacant jobs that match your training or your capacity to work and, if it has none, ask the local employment agency for help (Art. 64). The decision must include the list of available jobs (Art. 76).
• Prior assessment. A dismissal for professional unsuitability may only follow a prior assessment, under the procedure in the collective agreement or the internal rules (Art. 63(2)).
• Disciplinary investigation. For a disciplinary dismissal, the employer must summon you in writing, stating the subject, date, time and place of the meeting, and let you defend yourself. You may be assisted by an external labour law consultant or by a representative of your trade union (Art. 251). Without the investigation, the sanction is absolutely void, unless you failed to attend without an objective reason. The decision must be issued within 30 days of the employer learning of the breach and no later than 6 months after it (Art. 252).

When dismissal is prohibited

The employer cannot dismiss you (Art. 60):

• while you are on sick leave with a medical certificate;
• while you are pregnant, if the employer knew this before issuing the decision;
• during maternity leave, during parental leave for a child under 2 (3 for a child with a disability) and during leave to care for a sick child under 7 (18 for a child with a disability);
• during your annual leave;
• during paternity leave or carer's leave, or while you are absent for a family emergency under the conditions set by law.

These protections do not apply in judicial reorganisation, bankruptcy or dissolution of the employer. Separately, any dismissal based on grounds such as sex, age, ethnicity, religion, disability, chronic illness, family situation or trade union membership or activity, or for exercising the right to strike, is prohibited (Art. 59).

What you can do, step by step

1. Keep the decision and note the date you received it. If it came by post, keep the envelope too. The deadline runs from that date.
2. Gather documents. Your contract, addenda, job description, evaluations, internal rules, the summons to the disciplinary investigation, emails and messages. Under the GDPR, you can ask the employer for a copy of your personal data, such as evaluations or notes in your personnel file; see our guide to the right of access.
3. File the challenge with the tribunal on time. You have 45 calendar days from the day you learned of the dismissal (Art. 268(1)(a)). For decisions imposing a disciplinary sanction, the law sets 30 days from delivery (Art. 268(1)(b)). A disciplinary dismissal is also a disciplinary sanction (Art. 248), so in that case the safest course is to file within 30 days. The claim goes to the tribunal where you live, reside or work (Art. 269).
4. Ask for everything you are owed. You can ask for the decision to be annulled, for compensation equal to your indexed, increased and updated wages and the other entitlements you would have received, and, if you want, for reinstatement (Art. 80).
5. Do not let costs stop you at the start. Labour disputes are exempt from court fees (Art. 270), and the burden of proof lies with the employer (Art. 272). If you cannot afford a lawyer, you can apply for state legal aid under the income conditions of Emergency Ordinance No. 51/2008.

The case is heard as a matter of urgency, with hearings no more than 15 days apart. The judgment can be appealed within 10 days of delivery (Art. 271), and the first-instance judgment is enforceable by law (Art. 274).

The Labour Inspectorate can inspect the employer and fine it for breaking the law, but only a court can annul a dismissal. If you complain to the Inspectorate, file your court challenge in parallel, on time.

What has changed recently

• Sick leave. In Decision No. 18/2025, given in an appeal in the interest of the law (Official Gazette No. 967 of 20 October 2025), the High Court of Cassation and Justice held that the ban concerns the moment the dismissal decision is issued: that moment cannot fall within a period of sick leave.
• Reinstatement. In Decision No. 362/2025, given on a preliminary question of law (Official Gazette No. 1102 of 28 November 2025), the same court held that when an employer carries out a first-instance reinstatement order, it must notify you that the contract is reactivated and of the date you actually return to work.
• Notice. In Decision No. 8/2024 (Official Gazette No. 573 of 19 June 2024), the High Court held that the notice period starts on the day after the notice is delivered and ends on the last day of the period.
• Appeal. Since May 2023 (Emergency Ordinance No. 42/2023), the Labour Code expressly provides that first-instance judgments in labour disputes can only be challenged by appeal, within 10 days of delivery.

Frequently asked questions

"I signed to confirm receipt. Does that mean I agreed?" Your signature proves the date you received the decision, not that you agree with it. The deadline to challenge it starts from that date.

"I was asked to sign a resignation or a termination agreement." A resignation and a mutual agreement are not dismissals, so the rules above do not apply to them. You do not have to sign on the spot: read the document, ask for a copy and take time to think. A resignation is your own decision and does not need to give reasons (Art. 81).

"Can I claim the money without going back to that employer?" Yes. Compensation and reinstatement are separate claims. The court orders reinstatement only if you ask for it; if you do not, the contract ends on the date the judgment becomes final (Art. 80(2) and (3)).

"I think I was dismissed because I asked for carer's leave. What can I do?" The Labour Code prohibits dismissal during carer's leave (Art. 60(1)(i)). If you believe you were dismissed because you asked for it, you can ask the employer to set out the reasons for the dismissal in writing (Art. 62(4)) and use the answer in court.

Where to get help

• The tribunal where you live, reside or work: this is where the challenge is filed.
• The bar association in your county: information on state legal aid and legal assistance.
• Your trade union, if you are a member: it can represent and assist you, including in a disciplinary investigation.
• The Labour Inspectorate (in Romanian): complaints about an employer breaking the law.

This guide explains the law in force on the date of verification. It does not replace advice from a lawyer on your specific situation. The deadlines to challenge a dismissal are short: if in doubt, act early.