Romanian employers must grant special days off to employees of other religions

Did you know that employees of other religions in Romania are entitled to special days off? This is thanks to a regulation fostering inclusivity and respecting religious diversity in the workplace.
employees of other religions

This policy allows individuals to take leave for the observance of their own religious holidays, even if they differ from the national calendar or the Romanian dominant religion.

This is a sign of consideration to the rights of religious minorities and their right to religious holidays. The Romanian labor legislation obliges employers to grant special days off to employees of other religions on the occasions of holidays regulated by their religious cults.

Days off for all employees commonly regulated by the Romanian law:

Currently, the Romanian Labor Code provides under art. 139, para. (1) for public holidays to which any employee is allowed to have. These are mandatory and must be granted by the employer as follows:

  • 1st and 2nd of January;
  • 24th of January – Day of the Union of the Romanian Principalities;
  • Good Friday, the last Friday before Easter;
  • The first and second day of Easter;
  • 1st of May;
  • 1st of June;
  • The first and second day of Pentecost;
  • Assumption of the Virgin Mary;
  • 30th of November – Saint Andrew the Apostle, the First Called, the Protector of Romania;
  • 1st of December (Romanian national day);
  • The first and second day of Christmas.

In addition to those listed above, two days must be added for each of the three annual religious holidays offered to employees of other religions.

According to the provisions of the Romanian Labor Code, the granting of days off must be decided by the employer.

What do the legal provisions that grant this right to employees of other religions say?

According to these legal provisions, “The days off established (…) for persons belonging to legal religious denominations, other than Christian ones, must be granted by the employer on other days than the legal holidays established by law or annual rest leave”.

Employers must give two days off each year for each of the three annual religious holidays.

In addition, employers have the right to request days of recovery of leave granted to employees of other religions for religious holidays.

Exceptions may be made in areas where the presence of employees is essential: sanitary units, continuous production units, etc. In this case, the deprivation of the corresponding holidays will be rewarded with replacement days off or an increase of 100% of the basic salary.

Who can benefit from these days off?

Obviously, belonging to another denomination or religion should be justified or proven in front of the employer.

The proof can be made the simplest by a certificate issued by the religious institution attesting the affiliation of employees of other religions to that church and the official holidays for which the employee’s leave will be ordered.

Thus, two days are granted for each of the 3 annual religious holidays, declared as such by the legal religious cults, other than the Christian ones, for the persons belonging to them.

How does this law affect employers?

This law should not be a cause for concern for employers, especially as the days can be recovered and the population is mostly Orthodox. If you are an employer, you can easily recruit job candidates, regardless of their religion or denomination.

Why was it decided to grant employees of other religions special days off?

The basis of the law is based, on the one hand, on the constitutional principle of equal treatment and, on the other hand, on the principle of religious tolerance.

Thus, employees who celebrate religious events on different dates than Orthodox Christians, will have the opportunity to benefit from holidays corresponding to the holiday.

Therefore, if you are employed and belong to another religion or denomination compared to the Orthodox one, you can claim your rights without any problems, if you wish. Employers are required by law to provide this benefit to employees who demonstrate membership in another cult.

If you are an employer, make sure that your employees are informed about their rights and that these legal provisions are respected.

Can you choose not to hire people of other religions or denomination?

No, recruitment on the grounds of religion, sex or nationality is considered discrimination and should not be taken into account by any employer when recruiting staff.

In Romania there are 18 legally recognized Christian denominations:
  • Romanian Orthodox Church,
  • Serbian Orthodox Episcopate of Timisoara,
  • Roman Catholic Church,
  • Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic,
  • Archdiocese of the Armenian Church,
  • Old Rite Orthodox Church in Romania,
  • The Reformed Church in Romania,
  • C.A. Evangelical Church from Romania,
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church in Romania,
  • Unitarian Church of Transylvania,
  • Christian Baptist Worship-Union of Christian Baptist Churches in Romania,
  • The Christian Church After the Gospel in Romania,
  • Romanian Evangelical Church,
  • Pentecostal Christian Worship – The Apostolic Church of God in Romania,
  • Seventh-day Adventist Church in Romania,
  • Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania – The Mosaic Cult,
  • The Muslim cult,
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious Organization.

In addition, members of non-Christian denominations have the right to days off.

However, granting days off to employees of other religions should not be such a big issue for employers, since 89.45% of Romanians declared themselves Orthodox Christians in the 2011 census.

All resources from category: Employment guiding

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