On the 3rd of June 2010, Şerban Pâslaru, Partner at Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii and Head of the firm’s labor and employment practice group expressed some of his opinions regarding the problems associated with the current labor and employment legislation, in an interview given to Hotnews (watch the full video stream at - Serban Pâslaru: Interview with Hotnews). Also, he answered to queries addressed in relation to employment topics of general interest.

In his opinion, employee/employer relationship has to be reconsidered under the new economic circumstances, as a result of an increased number of specific labour issues that have emerged since the onset of the crisis.

Both employees and employers should pay particular attention to the labour law provisions in force and the due observance thereof. For example, employees should follow a few basic steps and before anything else, they have to be fully aware of their contractual rights. They should read the terms of their individual employment agreements and also get a hold of the provisions stipulated by the applicable collective bargaining agreements. Employers have an obligation to provide access to the collective bargaining agreement concluded at unit level to all the employees working in the respective company. In case an employee considers that his/her employer has taken unfair or even illegal actions, he/she should, if possible, address the respective issues to the Labour Union’s representative, or reach out to a lawyer for professional assistance.

There are sometimes problems with understanding the contractual terms at hand, considers Şerban Pâslaru. If employees are witnessing problems related to a clear understanding of the contractual terms presented in their individual labour agreements, they should definitely seek professional assistance. Nonetheless, employees must not disregard the fact that they are entitled to address the Court in case certain negative measures are brought against them by the employer. More so, when employees consider that they are being discriminated or abused, they may address the National Council for Combating Discrimination.

The current labor and employment legislation is most of the time in the benefit of the employees and there are many cases in which they have obtained positive Court decisions, adds Pâslaru. Nonetheless, on many occasion, employees take advantage of the current legislation, and on their turn, make certain abuses towards their employers. If these types of situation occur, the employer can also decide to terminate the contract of the employee who is found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct or who doesn’t fully correspond with the job requirements. It is however quite difficult for the employer to take these types of actions as the current legislation tremendously benefits the employee and, in case a contract is terminated without a considerable reason, the Court can decide in favor of the employee.

In order to stimulate the creation of new jobs in the private sector, it has become apparent that businesses need a far more flexible and friendly legal framework. The current labor and employment legislation is characterized by excessive regulation, argues Pâslaru. There are too many rules and regulations that make the labor market extremely rigid. One good example of this is represented by temporary work. The situations in which temporary work can be used are so limited that this type of work is not attractive at all for the employers and therefore, instead of creating new jobs and eventually benefiting the people that are searching for employment, the employer decides to give up hiring. Another problem is the long list of responsibilities that employers have. Among a series of financial obligations, employers must provide employees with a minimum wage and minimum wage increases for extra hours worked. The reality is that many of them cannot afford to observe all these legal requirements. In the situation in which these obligations would not stand at the current levels they are right now, more jobs would be generated for people in search of a place to work, said Pâslaru. In his opinion, the time has come to reconsider all these provisions, so that we would not have to reach the situation in which those protective measures will turn against those that should actually be benefiting from them – the employees.