Hire Employees in Romania

Hiring in Romania gives international companies access to a substantial European talent market with established capabilities across technology, engineering, shared services, finance, manufacturing, sales and business operations.

But finding the right candidate is only one part of the process.

Foreign employers also need to decide how the employee will be hired, which employment rules apply, how payroll and statutory reporting will be managed, and whether establishing a Romanian legal entity is commercially justified.

Brain Source International helps international companies hire employees in Romania through recruitment, Employer of Record, payroll and HR support.

Whether you need one specialist, a senior executive or an entire local team, we can help structure the hiring process around your business objectives and the requirements of Romanian employment law.

Need to hire in Romania? Tell us the roles, location, headcount and expected start date. We will help you determine the most practical recruitment and employment model.

Table of Contents

Hiring Employees in Romania: What International Employers Need to Consider

Romania can be attractive for companies expanding within the European Union because employers can recruit from a diversified workforce while operating within the EU regulatory framework.

However, international companies should avoid treating hiring in Romania as a simple extension of their home-country employment model.

Before making an offer, employers should understand:

how the employee will be legally employed;
whether a Romanian entity is required;
local employment contract requirements;
salary and total employment cost;
payroll and statutory reporting;
working-time and leave rules;
probation and termination procedures;
mandatory employee registrations;
immigration requirements for non-EU nationals;
the distinction between employees and independent contractors.

The right structure depends largely on the number of employees you plan to hire, the duration of your operations in Romania and whether you already have a local corporate presence.

How Can a Foreign Company Hire Employees in Romania?

International employers generally have several options.

Hire Through Your Own Romanian Entity

If your company already operates a Romanian subsidiary or intends to establish a substantial long-term presence, employees can normally be hired directly through that entity.

The local employer assumes responsibility for employment contracts, payroll, taxation, HR administration, statutory reporting and employment compliance.

This model can make sense when a company expects to maintain a significant permanent workforce and needs broader corporate infrastructure in Romania.

The disadvantage is that establishing and operating an entity involves more than simply registering a company. Accounting, payroll, employment administration, banking, corporate governance and ongoing compliance all need to be maintained.

For companies entering Romania with only a few employees, that infrastructure can be disproportionate to the initial hiring requirement.

Hire Employees in Romania Through an Employer of Record

An Employer of Record in Romania can be an alternative when a foreign company wants to employ local talent without immediately establishing its own Romanian entity.

Under an EOR structure, the employee is formally employed through the local employment framework while working operationally for the client company.

The EOR typically manages areas such as:

local employment contracts;
employee onboarding;
payroll processing;
salary payments;
statutory deductions and reporting;
HR administration;
employment documentation;
leave administration;
compliant offboarding.

The client continues to manage the employee’s day-to-day work, performance, responsibilities and business objectives.

This structure is particularly relevant for companies that want to hire employees in Romania without a local entity, test the market before establishing a subsidiary or recruit a limited number of specialists.

Work With Independent Contractors

Contractor engagement can be suitable where the relationship is genuinely independent.

However, companies should not use a contractor agreement simply because it appears administratively easier than employment.

If the individual effectively works under the direction and control of the company in a manner comparable to an employee, the arrangement can create worker-classification and tax risks.

The working relationship should therefore be assessed based on its substance, not only the name of the contract.

Recruitment in Romania

Companies entering Romania often underestimate the importance of local recruitment knowledge.

Salary expectations, candidate availability, competition for specialist talent and recruitment timelines can vary significantly by profession and location.

A company hiring software engineers in Bucharest may face a very different talent market from an employer recruiting manufacturing specialists in western Romania or multilingual shared-services professionals in another regional centre.

Brain Source International can support employers with:

market mapping;
candidate sourcing;
direct search;
executive search;
screening and assessment;
interview coordination;
salary benchmarking;
recruitment process management;
offer-stage support;
international hiring projects.

Our objective is not simply to produce a large number of CVs.

The recruitment process should identify candidates who meet the technical requirements of the role, fit the employer’s operational environment and have realistic expectations regarding compensation, responsibilities and career progression.

Hire Romanian Talent Without Building a Recruitment Team Locally

International companies entering a new market often face a practical problem: they need local employees before they have local HR infrastructure.

This is where recruitment and EOR can work together.

For example, a company entering Romania may need:

a Country Manager;
two sales professionals;
a finance specialist;
several software engineers.

Instead of establishing a local HR department and legal entity before validating the market, the company can use Brain Source International to identify the required talent and structure employment through an appropriate local solution.

Once the operation becomes larger and more permanent, the company can reassess whether establishing its own Romanian entity is commercially appropriate.

This approach can reduce the amount of infrastructure required during the first stage of expansion.

Employment Contracts in Romania

Employment relationships in Romania are regulated by Romanian labour legislation.

An individual employment contract must be concluded in writing and in Romanian before the employee starts work. The employer is responsible for providing the employee with a copy and registering the employment relationship in the Romanian employee register before activity begins.

Employment contracts normally need to address matters including:

identity of the employer and employee;
job title and duties;
workplace;
employment start date;
contract duration;
working hours;
base salary and other compensation;
annual leave;
probation period;
notice period;
employee evaluation criteria;
rights and obligations of the parties.

Job responsibilities are also commonly documented through a job description attached to the employment agreement.

These requirements make it important to prepare employment documentation before the planned start date rather than treating contracting as a post-hire administrative step.

REGES-ONLINE and Employee Registration

Romanian employers are subject to employment-registration requirements through the country’s employee register system.

Romania now operates REGES-ONLINE, which provides electronic management of employer, employee and employment-contract information. Employment contracts must be registered no later than the day before the employee begins work.

For a foreign company unfamiliar with Romanian HR administration, this is one example of why employment compliance needs to be addressed before onboarding.

Payroll and HR administration should therefore be integrated into the hiring process rather than arranged after the employee has already accepted the offer.

Working Hours in Romania

For full-time employees, the standard working schedule is generally:

8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

The maximum working time is generally 48 hours per week including overtime, subject to the applicable calculation and rest rules.

Overtime is subject to Romanian labour-law requirements and normally needs to be compensated with paid time off. Where compensation with time off is not possible within the statutory period, additional pay requirements may apply.

International employers should therefore avoid automatically importing working-time practices from another country into Romanian employment contracts or internal HR policies.

Annual Leave

Employees in Romania are entitled to paid annual leave.

The statutory minimum is 20 working days per year, although employers can provide a greater entitlement through the employment contract or applicable policies.

Companies benchmarking compensation packages should consider total employment conditions, not only gross salary.

For specialist and senior positions, benefits, flexibility, bonus arrangements and career progression can have a significant effect on candidate acceptance and retention.

Probation Periods

Romanian employment law allows probation periods, but statutory limits apply.

The maximum probation period is generally:

90 calendar days for executive/non-management positions;
120 calendar days for management positions.

During the probation period, the employment relationship still exists formally and the employee benefits from employment rights.

A probation period should therefore not be treated as a substitute for proper recruitment and assessment.

Notice Periods and Termination

Termination procedures are an important area of employment compliance.

Romanian labour law does not generally allow employers to terminate employees simply by applying an unrestricted “at-will” employment concept.

The legal basis, process and documentation need to be considered before a termination decision is implemented.

For employee resignation, the contractual notice period cannot normally exceed 20 working days for non-management positions and 45 working days for management positions.

Employers entering Romania should therefore understand termination obligations before hiring rather than only when an employment relationship needs to end.

Minimum Salary in Romania

Compensation should be benchmarked against both statutory requirements and the actual market rate for the position.

From 1 July 2026, Romania’s national gross minimum base salary is RON 4,325 per month under Government Decision No. 146/2026.

For most professional, technical and managerial recruitment, however, the relevant salary benchmark will normally be substantially influenced by role, experience, industry, location and candidate scarcity rather than the statutory minimum alone.

A competitive hiring budget should therefore be based on the talent market for the specific role.

Payroll in Romania

Hiring an employee creates recurring payroll obligations.

Employers need processes for:

gross-to-net salary calculation;
statutory deductions;
employer liabilities;
payroll reporting;
salary payments;
benefits;
leave and absence data;
employee documentation;
year-round payroll compliance.

Romania requires employers and other qualifying salary payers to report employment-related social contributions and income-tax information through the relevant statutory reporting framework. ANAF maintains the electronic declaration system used for these obligations.

This means payroll should be treated as a compliance function rather than only a monthly salary calculation.

Brain Source International can support international employers that need local payroll administration alongside recruitment or EOR services.

Recruiting EU and Non-EU Employees in Romania

Romania’s position within the European Union can simplify mobility for EU/EEA nationals compared with hiring employees from third countries.

Hiring non-EU nationals can involve additional immigration, work-authorisation and residency requirements.

These processes should be considered before an employer makes commitments regarding a candidate’s start date.

For international recruitment projects, candidate nationality, immigration status and intended work location should therefore be reviewed early in the hiring process.

Recruitment + EOR: One Process From Candidate Search to Employment

A common problem in international hiring is fragmentation.

One provider finds the candidate. Another prepares the contract. A separate payroll company processes salary. Local advisers answer employment questions only after a problem appears.

For an employer, this creates unnecessary coordination.

Brain Source International can support the hiring lifecycle more broadly.

1. Define the Hiring Requirement

We establish the position, location, experience level, language requirements, compensation range and preferred start date.

2. Assess the Romanian Talent Market

We evaluate candidate availability and discuss whether the proposed salary and requirements are realistic for the market.

3. Source and Evaluate Candidates

Our recruitment team identifies relevant candidates and manages screening and interview coordination.

4. Select the Employment Structure

Depending on your situation, employees can be hired through your Romanian entity or an appropriate Employer of Record structure.

5. Prepare Employment and Onboarding

Employment documentation, onboarding requirements and payroll information are prepared before the employee begins work.

6. Manage Ongoing Employment Administration

Where required, Brain Source International can support payroll, HR administration and ongoing workforce management.

The result is a more coordinated path from “we need someone in Romania” to an operational employee.

When Does EOR Make Sense in Romania?

An EOR can be particularly useful when a company:

wants to hire its first employee in Romania;
plans to hire a small initial team;
has identified a candidate but has no Romanian entity;
needs to enter the market quickly;
wants to test commercial demand before establishing a subsidiary;
is building a distributed European workforce;
requires local employment and payroll administration;
does not yet have local HR infrastructure.

A Romanian entity may become more appropriate when the organisation develops substantial permanent operations, employs a larger workforce or requires broader local corporate infrastructure.

The decision should therefore be based on the company’s expansion strategy rather than on EOR or entity formation being universally “better”.

Hire Employees in Romania: EOR vs Local Entity

The right approach can also change over time.

A business may initially hire employees in Romania through an EOR and later transfer the workforce to its own entity after the local operation reaches sufficient scale.

What Roles Can Brain Source International Recruit in Romania?

Recruitment requirements differ by industry, but international employers commonly search Romania for talent across:

Technology and IT

Software development, engineering, QA, DevOps, data, infrastructure, cybersecurity and technology management.

Finance and Shared Services

Accounting, financial analysis, controlling, payroll, procurement, customer support and multilingual business services.

Sales and Business Development

Country managers, sales managers, account managers, business development professionals and commercial leadership.

Engineering and Manufacturing

Production, engineering, quality, supply chain, operations and technical management.

Senior Leadership

Country Directors, General Managers, Finance Directors, HR Directors, Operations Directors and other executive positions.

Brain Source International can manage both individual specialist searches and broader recruitment projects.

Why Companies Use Brain Source International to Hire in Romania

International hiring is rarely only a recruitment question or only a payroll question.

Employers need the different parts of the process to work together.

Brain Source International combines experience across:

International Recruitment
Executive Search
Talent Acquisition
Employer of Record
Global Payroll
Contractor Management
HR Outsourcing
HR Consulting

This allows us to look at the hiring requirement from the employer’s perspective.

If you already have a Romanian entity, you may only need recruitment.

If you have found the candidate yourself but cannot legally employ them locally, EOR may be the relevant solution.

If you are building a new team, recruitment and EOR can be combined.

If your organisation later establishes its own entity, the employment structure can be reviewed again.

The objective is to use the model that matches the stage of your business expansion.

Practical Example: Hiring Your First Employees in Romania

Consider a UK or US technology company planning to build a small engineering team in Romania.

The company wants to recruit:

one Engineering Manager;
three software developers;
one QA specialist.

The company has no Romanian subsidiary and does not yet know whether the team will eventually grow to five employees or fifty.

Establishing a full corporate structure before validating the hiring strategy may not be commercially necessary.

A more flexible approach could be:

Step 1: Benchmark Romanian salaries and candidate availability.

Step 2: Recruit the initial team.

Step 3: Employ the selected candidates through an EOR structure.

Step 4: Run compliant local payroll and HR administration.

Step 5: Reassess entity formation once the Romanian operation has demonstrated long-term scale.

This creates a staged market-entry strategy rather than requiring every corporate decision to be made before the first employee is hired.

Common Mistakes When Hiring Employees in Romania

Starting Recruitment Without a Defined Employment Model

A candidate may reach the offer stage before the employer has determined who will legally employ them.

This can delay onboarding and undermine candidate confidence.

Applying Employment Terms From Another Country

Romanian employment law governs local employment relationships. Contract templates and policies from the employer’s home country may not meet Romanian requirements.

Underestimating Local Salary Expectations

National salary averages are rarely sufficient for specialist recruitment. Salary expectations can vary significantly by function, location and seniority.

Treating Contractors as Employees

Contractor arrangements should reflect genuine independence. Using contractor status primarily to avoid employment administration can create classification risk.

Leaving Payroll Setup Until After Recruitment

Payroll information, employment registration and statutory documentation need to be prepared before the employee starts work.

Establishing an Entity Before Testing the Market

For some companies, a subsidiary is the right answer.

For others, creating an entity before hiring the first one or two employees creates infrastructure that the business may not yet need.

Hire Your First Employee or Build a Team in Romania

There is no single hiring model that works for every international employer.

A business hiring one remote specialist has different requirements from a multinational opening a permanent Romanian operation.

Brain Source International can help you assess:

which talent is available;
how competitive your hiring package is;
how candidates should be recruited;
whether EOR or direct employment is more appropriate;
how payroll and HR administration should be structured;
what needs to be completed before the employee starts.

That allows the hiring decision to be based on both talent availability and employment feasibility.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring Employees in Romania

Can a foreign company hire employees in Romania?

Yes. The appropriate structure depends on whether the foreign company has a Romanian employing entity. Companies without one may consider an Employer of Record or establish their own local entity.

Can I hire employees in Romania without setting up a company?

An Employer of Record can allow an international company to employ workers in Romania without establishing its own local entity, subject to the circumstances and applicable employment structure.

How do I hire employees in Romania?

The process normally involves defining the role and compensation, recruiting candidates, selecting an employment structure, preparing a compliant Romanian employment contract, completing employee registration and establishing payroll before the employee starts work.

Do employment contracts in Romania need to be in Romanian?

Romanian labour authorities state that the individual employment contract must be concluded in writing and in Romanian before the employee begins work.

What is the standard working week in Romania?

The standard full-time schedule is generally 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

How much annual leave do employees receive in Romania?

The statutory minimum is 20 working days of paid annual leave per year.

What is the probation period in Romania?

The maximum probation period is generally 90 calendar days for non-management positions and 120 calendar days for management positions.

What is the minimum salary in Romania in 2026?

From 1 July 2026, the national gross minimum base salary is RON 4,325 per month.

Is EOR better than opening a company in Romania?

Not necessarily. EOR is often useful for initial hiring, smaller teams and market testing. A local entity can become more efficient where the company is building substantial and permanent operations.

Can Brain Source International recruit candidates and employ them through EOR?

Brain Source International provides international recruitment and Employer of Record support, allowing companies to coordinate candidate search and employment implementation as part of the same international hiring strategy.

Start Hiring Employees in Romania

If your company is planning to hire employees in Romania, the first step should be to understand both the talent market and the employment structure required to support the hire.

Brain Source International can help with recruitment, executive search, Employer of Record, payroll and ongoing HR support in Romania.

Tell us what you need to hire.

Share the role, number of employees, preferred location and target start date. We can help you evaluate the Romanian talent market and determine the most practical route from recruitment to compliant employment.

Contact Brain Source International to discuss hiring in Romania.