THE MINIMUM WAGE ACC. ORDINANCE NO. 846/29.11.2017 OF THE ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT
- From 1 January 2018, the minimum wage will increase from 1,450 lei to 1,900 lei for full working hours of 166,666 hours per month on average in 2018, or 11,40 lei/hour.
- The increase in the gross minimum wage represents an increase of 31.03% compared to 2017 and is influenced by the transfer of social security contributions from the employer to the employee, which is 22.75%.
- Fixing the gross salary of employees below the minimum wage is considered as a violation and will be punish with a penalty between 300 Lei and 2,000 Lei per labour contract.
SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS ACC. TO ORDINANCE NO. 79/2017 FOR AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING THE TAX CODE
- Part-time workers with a gross salary below the minimum wage must pay the sick (10%) and pension insurance contributions (25%) at the level of the minimum gross wage, i. e. 190 Lei sickness insurance contributions or 475 Lei pension insurance contributions. Note: Persons who have concluded several part-time labour contracts and whose cumulative gross income exceeds the gross minimum wage are not affected.
- As outlined in Appendix 1 to this newsletter, the application of this legal provision may in individual cases lead to negative net wages for part-time workers.
APPENDIX
Example 1: Part-time 4 hours/day, excluding deductions and meal vouchers.
| Description | 2017 | 2018 |
| Gross wage part time 4 hours | 725 | 950 |
| Employee social security contributions (16.5% in 2017 vs. 35% of the minimum wage in 2018) | 120 | 665 |
| Wage tax (16% in 2017 vs 10% in 2018) | 49 | 29 |
| Net wage | 556 | 256 |
| Employer social security contributions (2% of gross salary and 21% of minimum wage in 2017 vs. 2.25% in 2018) | 317 | 21 |
| Total (gross salary + Employer social contributions) | 1042 | 971 |
Example 2: Part-time 2 hours/day, excluding deductions and meal vouchers.
| Description | 2017 | 2018 |
| Gross wage part time 4 hours | 362 | 475 |
| Employee social security contributions (16.5% in 2017 vs. 35% of the minimum wage in 2018) | 60 | 665 |
| Wage tax (16% in 2017 vs 10% in 2018) | 0 | 0 |
| Net wage | 302 | -190 |
| Employer social security contributions (2% of gross salary and 21% of minimum wage in 2017 vs. 2.25% in 2018) | 311 | 11 |
| Total (gross salary + Employer social contributions) | 673 | 486 |