Romania · hiring guide

Employer of Record in Romania

How employment works in Romania through an Employer of Record: contributions, mandatory benefits, contracts, notice and termination.

An Employer of Record (EOR) in Romania legally employs your hire on your behalf, so you can pay them compliantly without setting up a local entity. On top of gross salary, expect ~2.3% in quantified mandatory employer contributions (social security, healthcare, pension, payroll tax).

Salary is agreed in your billing currency and paid locally in RON (lei). This page covers the employment rules: statutory contributions, mandatory benefits, notice and termination.

Want the numbers instead? Open the Romania EOR cost calculator and platform comparison.

Statutory calculation based on the inputs shown. Your final employment or EOR cost may differ because of benefits, provider fees, FX, employer-specific charges and other circumstances. How to read these figures.

Romania employer cost at a glance

Employer statutory cost: ~2.3% of annual base salary
Employer contributions: Work insurance contribution (CAM) · Additional pension contribution for hazardous working conditions
Contribution ceiling: Does not apply
Mandatory additional pay: No
What this estimate includes: Every employer cost we model for this country
Scope of this figure: Normal working conditions. The employer's pension surcharge depends on whether the job is classified as normal, difficult or special working conditions. Normal conditions is assumed because it covers ordinary office employment, and the assumption is disclosed because the alternative adds 4 or 8 points of gross pay.
Evidence depth: Charge-by-charge statutory evidence and sources shown below
Statutory evidence last verified: 2026-09-07

Worked example: employing in Romania

For this lei270,900 RON Romania example, the verified statutory employer-cost components add lei6,095 to annual base salary, producing a known employer cost of lei276,995.

Illustrative annual employer cost for one employee in Romania, in RON
Annual base salary	270.900 lei
Employer contributions	6.095 lei
Known statutory employer cost	6.095 lei
Annual total employer cost	276.995 lei

Employer contributions are 2.3% of annual employment cash in this example. The salary is a fixed illustrative input used identically on every country page, not a market pay benchmark. 4 providers have verified availability in Romania. Statutory evidence last verified 2026-09-07.

TL;DR, Hiring in Romania

Fully-loaded employer cost: ~2.25% on top of gross (post-2018 tax shift)
Most social contributions are now employee-side (CAS 25%, CASS 10%)
Only labour insurance (CAM 2.25%) remains employer-side
IT employees historically had income tax exemption, phased out in 2024

Last reviewed: June 22, 2026

Statutory employer costs in Romania

Romania shifted nearly all payroll taxes to the employee side in 2018. Today, the employer pays only the 2.25% Labour Insurance Contribution (CAM). The employee pays 25% CAS (pension), 10% CASS (health), and 10% income tax. This makes the employer's stated cost in Romania deceptively low, the gross salary itself absorbs the burden, so candidates negotiate based on net.

Contribution	Employer rate	Notes
Labour Insurance (CAM)	2.25%	Covers unemployment, work accidents, guarantee fund

Mandatory employee benefits

Beyond statutory contributions, Romania law requires the following benefits the employer must fund.

Annual leave: 20 working days minimum; collective agreements often add 1–5 more.
Meal vouchers: Common; up to RON 40/day tax-advantaged in 2024.
Private health insurance: Not mandatory but standard for mid-senior roles.

Termination, notice and severance

Probation

30 days (workers) to 90 days (managers/specialists); 120 days for management.

Notice period

20 working days minimum, regardless of tenure.

Severance

Not statutory; defined by collective agreement or contract.

Common compliance pitfalls

Quote in net rather than gross, Romanian candidates think in net and the employee-side burden is heavy.
IT income tax exemption (phased out for new entrants from Nov 2023) materially changed offer competitiveness.
Permanent contracts (CIM pe perioadă nedeterminată) are the default; fixed-term is restricted to 36 months/3 renewals.

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Frequently asked questions

Romania moved nearly all payroll taxes to the employee side in 2018. The employer only pays 2.25% CAM. But the employee then loses ~35% of gross to CAS, CASS, and income tax, so the gross has to be set higher to deliver a competitive net.

What it costs to employ someone in Romania

Partially. The 10% income tax exemption for IT roles is being phased out, with new entrants no longer eligible from late 2023 / 2024. Confirm eligibility per hire.

Net of taxes, mid-level engineers in Bucharest/Cluj typically target EUR 2,500–4,500 net/month. Gross-to-net is roughly 1.65×.

Sources

Statutory rates and rules verified against the following authorities. We update this page when rates change.

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How this cost is calculated

Figures for Romania are calculated charge by charge from the published statutory rules, each with its own rate, ceiling and source shown below. Scope: Normal working conditions. The employer's pension surcharge depends on whether the job is classified as normal, difficult or special working conditions. Normal conditions is assumed because it covers ordinary office employment, and the assumption is disclosed because the alternative adds 4 or 8 points of gross pay. Last checked against source on 2026-09-07.

Every statutory charge behind this rate, with its rate, ceiling, effective date and issuing authority, is set out on the Romania employer cost and evidence page.

Where to go next

Compare EOR providers that cover Romania Compare Romania with other locations See how these figures are calculated

Keep going on Romania

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Same canonical region as Romania, ranked by hiring volume and comparable employer contribution levels.

Provider metadata (FX terms, deposit, entity ownership) and statutory tax brackets are sourced from public materials and official government publications. Provider headline pricing last re-verified 22 October 2026; statutory data last reviewed 28 August 2026; bundled fallback exchange rates dated 28 August 2026 (live rates are used when available). Some providers publish an FX method, timing rule or markup, while others do not. Provider-specific currency-conversion cost is excluded from every total and ranking rather than guessed; exclusion does not mean zero. Confirm conversion terms in writing with the provider before signing.