Accace: What changes did 2022 bring to the labor market: More days off, additional taxes for part-time employees, mandatory internal regulation

According to Accace, one of the main business consulting and service outsourcing companies in Central and Eastern Europe, the most important legislative changes in 2022 for HR departments of companies aimed at transposing a set of social values and principles already recognized by civil society in Europe.

Among them are: the balance between professional and personal life, the transparency and predictability of working conditions, the consolidation of the budget and the increase of tax revenues, the reduction of tax evasion or the limitation of the effect of inflation on the standard of living by increasing the minimum gross salary per country.

Given the nature of the legislative changes, companies were directly impacted by their effects. Thus, the spectrum of effects felt by employers ranged from secondary aspects such as the restoration of the framework model for individual employment contracts, to the essential ones such as the increase of the gross minimum wage per country, the overtaxing of part-time contracts according to Government Ordinance no. 16/2022 or the additional days off that employees can benefit from (paternal or caregiver leave). In addition, next to these can be listed: the obligation to initiate collective negotiations at the level of units that have at least 10 employees or the obligation of micro-enterprises to have internal regulations and to draw up job descriptions for employees.

According to the representatives of Accace Romania, the legislative changes aim to improve working conditions by promoting more transparent forms of work, namely the minimum rights that apply to all employees in Romania who have concluded an individual employment contract. They also aim at a series of minimum requirements aimed at ensuring equality between women and men in terms of opportunities on the labor market and treatment at work, facilitating the reconciliation of professional life with family life for employees who are parents or carers .

“The main advantage that these legislative changes bring to labor relations is the predictability of the conduct of the parties. Thus, both employees and employers will have a better representation of their contractual rights and obligations. Although it is possible that the harmonization of the amended rules with the contractual procedures and models involves a number of expenses for employers, these are secondary and the benefits outweigh the costs, in our opinion. At the same time, following these legislative amendments and additions, Accace Romania provided support to its clients regarding the drafting of individual employment contracts, additional documents, internal regulations and job descriptions for employees, as well as advice on the applicability and interpretation of labor legislation ”, declares Laura Ștefan, Managing Director of Accace Romania.

Internal regulation, opportunity for the employer to establish the general framework of activity

For example, the obligation of the employer to have an internal regulation at the company level should be seen rather as an opportunity for the employer, because through this document he can establish different policies and procedures, such as rules regarding hygiene and safety at work, compliance with the principle of non-discrimination and of removing any form of violation of dignity.

Also within this document, the employer can establish rules regarding the disciplinary procedure or the amicable resolution of individual labor conflicts, requests or individual complaints of employees, such as professional evaluation procedures or the rights and obligations of the employer and employees.

The evolution of the legislative environment in the area of personnel administration and payroll in 2023
This year, one of the normative acts that bring relevant legislative changes for the payroll and personnel administration area is the Government’s Emergency Ordinance no. 164/2022. Although the ordinance is already in force, the contained measures will be able to be fully applied with the modification of the methodological rules for applying the provisions of GEO no. 111/2010 regarding leave and monthly allowance for raising children, according to art. II and III of O.U.G. no. 164/2022.

Thus, among the most important changes contained in the previously mentioned normative act are: the simultaneous recognition of income from foreign sources as well as from internal sources, as long as the periods of activity and income do not overlap in the same month. Beneficiaries of allowances will be able to request the recalculation of the amount of the allowance based on final court decisions, certificates, certificates or other documents that correct the determined income as a basis for calculating the allowance.

At the same time, people who obtain income from independent activities, for example authorized natural persons (PFA), copyrights, etc., will have easier access to the allowance, and retroactive differences may be granted or recovered in cases where the recalculation of benefits by a beneficiary has led to an increase or, as the case may be, a decrease in them.
Regarding parental leave, the period of non-transferable leave for the other parent who did not initially request the leave is extended from at least one month to at least two months of the total leave period. Likewise, employees entering parental leave are obliged to notify their employer at least 10 days before the end of maternity leave or, as the case may be, before the estimated start date of parental leave.

At the same time, parents who return to work after child-rearing leave have the right to return to the same position, with the same conditions, and can also collect the reinsertion allowance, in compliance with the conditions established by law in this regard.

Present on the Romanian market since 2007, Accace operates internationally as the Accace Circle, a business community of BPO service providers and consultants that provides its customers with a unified, personalized and high-quality experience. Covering more than 50 locations through our nearly 2,500 professionals, we support more than 15,000 clients, mostly local and international Fortune 500 companies, and process at least 200,000 salary slips per month globally.