Parental leave by country / Romania
Maternity, paternity and parental leave in Romania
How long each parent can be away, who pays and how much, the notice rules and the job protection — in plain English, whether you run a team in Romania or work on one.
Romanian mothers take 126 calendar days of maternity leave — 63 before and 63 after the birth, at least 42 of which must follow it — paid at 85% of the calculation base by the health insurance fund. Fathers have 10 working days of paternity leave at full pay, 15 if they complete a childcare course. Either parent may then take child-raising leave until the child turns two, paid at 85% of average net income within a floor and ceiling, with at least two months reserved for the other parent.
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How it works
Maternity leave under OUG 158/2005 is 126 calendar days split evenly around the birth; the two halves can be rebalanced but at least 42 days must be taken after it. The indemnity is 85% of the average insured income of the previous six months, paid from the health insurance fund rather than by the employer. Paternity leave under Law 210/1999 is 10 working days at full pay from the employer, extended to 15 when the father produces a certificate of attendance at a childcare course, and must be taken in the first eight weeks. Child-raising leave under OUG 111/2010 runs until the child’s second birthday (third for a child with a disability) with a monthly indemnity of 85% of the average net income of the last twelve months in the two years before the birth, subject to a statutory minimum and a maximum. At least two months of the entitlement are reserved for the parent who did not take the bulk of it and are lost if unused. A parent who returns to work before the end is paid an insertion incentive.
Worth knowing: The insertion incentive (stimulent de inserție) rewards returning to work before the child-raising leave ends and continues to be paid for a period afterwards, which makes an early return financially attractive compared with most of the EU.
If you run a team in Romania
You pay the 10 or 15 days of paternity leave; maternity and child-raising indemnities come from public funds. Keep the post open — dismissal is prohibited during maternity and child-raising leave and for six months after the return — and record the leaves in Revisal. Annual leave accrues during maternity leave, and leave not taken because of it must be granted afterwards.
If you work in Romania
Submit the medical certificate for maternity leave; the indemnity is 85% of your six-month average. Fathers should take the 10 days in the first eight weeks and can claim 15 with a childcare course certificate. Apply for the child-raising indemnity at the county agency within 60 days, and remember the two months reserved for the other parent — they cannot be transferred.
Parental leave and annual leave
Annual leave accrues during maternity leave and cannot be reduced by it; leave that could not be taken is granted after the return. Child-raising leave does not accrue annual leave for the period concerned.
The annual leave entitlement itself is covered on our Romania annual leave page — 20 working days minimum.
Keeping the record straight
Long leaves are where leave records go wrong quietly: holiday that kept accruing for months and was never credited, a return date nobody diarised, a reduced entitlement applied where the law forbids it. In Romania the rules above decide what is owed on return, and the record has to show it. A tracker like Leavo keeps the leave, the accrual and the approvals in one place so the return is a date, not a dispute. We compare the options in our leave management software guide, and the policy side — carryover, payout, accrual — in our guides.
Parental leave in Romania: common questions
How is Romanian maternity leave split?
126 calendar days in total — nominally 63 before and 63 after the birth. The halves can be rebalanced, but at least 42 days must be taken after the birth.
How much is the child-raising indemnity?
85% of the average net income of the last twelve months within the two years before the birth, subject to a statutory minimum and maximum, paid monthly until the child turns two.
Can one parent take the whole child-raising leave?
No. At least two months are reserved for the other parent and are lost if that parent does not take them.
Does annual leave accrue during maternity or parental leave in Romania?
Annual leave accrues during maternity leave and cannot be reduced by it; leave that could not be taken is granted after the return. Child-raising leave does not accrue annual leave for the period concerned.
Source
Primary source: OUG 158/2005 (maternity); Law 210/1999 (paternity); OUG 111/2010 (child-raising leave and indemnity). Benefit rates and ceilings change every year and collective agreements frequently improve on the statutory scheme — confirm against the current text before acting. See our methodology.