Minimum Wage in Romania

The minimum wage in Romania is RON 4,325 gross per month from 1 July 2026 for a standard full-time working schedule.

The new rate was established by Romanian Government Decision No. 146/2026 and replaced the previous national gross minimum salary of RON 4,050 per month. The statutory hourly minimum is RON 25.949, based on an average working schedule of 166.667 hours per month. Supplements, bonuses and other additional payments are not included when determining whether the statutory base minimum has been met.

For international companies hiring employees in Romania, however, the statutory minimum is only the starting point. Employers also need to understand payroll deductions, employer contributions, salary benchmarking, employment contracts and the rule limiting how long an employee can remain on the national minimum salary.

Brain Source International supports companies with recruitment, Employer of Record, payroll and HR administration in Romania, helping employers structure compensation and employment correctly from the beginning.

What Is the Minimum Wage in Romania in 2026?

Romania has had two national minimum wage levels during 2026.

From 1 January to 30 June 2026, the gross national minimum salary remained:

RON 4,050 per month

From 1 July 2026, it increased to:

RON 4,325 gross per month

The increase amounts to RON 275 per month, or approximately 6.8%.

The current minimum wage applies to a normal full-time schedule and represents the minimum base salary, not total remuneration including bonuses or other salary additions.

For employers preparing hiring budgets, this distinction is important. A compensation package cannot simply use bonuses, allowances or other additions to bring a base salary below the statutory minimum up to the required threshold.

Romania Minimum Wage 2026 at a Glance

The RON 4,325 rate is therefore the relevant national minimum for employees hired from July 2026 onward.

Is the Minimum Wage in Romania Gross or Net?

Romania’s statutory minimum wage is expressed as a gross salary.

This is the amount before employee taxes and social contributions are deducted.

Employers should therefore distinguish between three separate figures:

Gross salary — the contractual salary before deductions.

Net salary — the amount ultimately received by the employee after applicable deductions.

Total employer cost — the gross salary plus employer-side contributions and any additional benefits or employment costs.

These figures are not interchangeable.

This becomes particularly important when international companies discuss salaries with Romanian candidates. An employer may budget in gross salary while a candidate thinks primarily in terms of monthly net pay.

Salary offers should therefore make clear whether an amount is quoted as gross or net.

Taxes and Social Contributions on Romanian Salaries

Under the general Romanian payroll framework, employment income is subject to employee social contributions and personal income tax.

The standard employee contribution rates in 2026 are generally:

• 25% social insurance contribution (CAS);
• 10% health insurance contribution (CASS);
• 10% personal income tax, applied to the relevant taxable base.

For normal working conditions, employers generally also pay a 2.25% work insurance contribution (CAM) on the applicable salary base. Different or additional employer social insurance liabilities can apply to certain uncommon or special working conditions.

The actual net salary should not be calculated simply by subtracting these percentages from gross pay. Personal deductions, tax treatment, employee circumstances and specific fiscal provisions may affect the final calculation.

For this reason, international employers should use a local payroll calculation rather than relying on a generic gross-to-net conversion.

Minimum Wage Is Not the Same as Employer Cost

A common budgeting mistake when entering Romania is to assume that:

gross salary = total cost of employment.

It does not.

Employer cost can include:

• gross base salary;
• employer contributions;
• benefits;
• meal benefits where provided;
• bonuses and variable compensation;
• private medical insurance;
• equipment;
• payroll administration;
• recruitment costs;
• HR administration;
• occupational health requirements;
• other contractual or company benefits.

For a company planning to hire employees in Romania, the relevant budget should therefore be based on total employment cost rather than salary alone.

This becomes even more important when comparing Romania with other European hiring markets.

Can an Employee Stay on the Minimum Wage Indefinitely?

No.

This is one of the Romanian minimum wage rules international employers can easily overlook.

Under Article 164 of the Romanian Labour Code, the national gross minimum base salary can generally be paid to an employee for a maximum of 24 months from the date the individual employment contract is concluded.

After that period, the employee’s base salary must be set above the statutory national minimum wage.

This means the minimum salary is not necessarily a permanent salary level for an employee.

Employers with Romanian workers who are paid at the statutory minimum should therefore track both:

• changes in the national minimum wage; and
• how long each employee has been paid at the minimum level.

This should be part of regular payroll and HR compliance monitoring.

What Happens When the Romanian Minimum Wage Increases?

A statutory increase can require employers to review existing employment contracts and payroll records.

If an employee’s base salary falls below the new statutory threshold, the employer needs to ensure that remuneration is brought into compliance from the effective date.

The increase from RON 4,050 to RON 4,325 from 1 July 2026 therefore affects not only new hires but also existing employees whose contractual base salary was previously at the national minimum.

For companies managing Romanian employees from another country, minimum wage changes should trigger a payroll review covering:

• affected employees;
• contractual base salaries;
• payroll calculations;
• employee records;
• HR systems;
• future hiring budgets;
• salary compression within lower-paid roles.

Salary compression can be particularly important.

If entry-level pay rises because of a statutory increase while salaries immediately above it remain unchanged, employers may find that differences between junior and more experienced positions become too small.

The legal adjustment can therefore create a wider compensation-review issue rather than simply requiring one payroll amendment.

Does the Romanian Minimum Wage Apply to Foreign Employees?

Employees working under Romanian employment arrangements are generally subject to applicable Romanian employment requirements regardless of whether the employer is ultimately owned by a foreign company.

International employers should therefore not assume that salary policies from their headquarters can simply be transferred to Romania.

If an employee is employed locally in Romania, the employment structure should account for Romanian requirements concerning matters such as:

• minimum remuneration;
• employment documentation;
• working time;
• leave;
• probation;
• payroll;
• statutory reporting;
• termination.

Different questions can arise in international assignments, posted-worker arrangements and cross-border employment, where the facts of the particular situation need to be assessed separately.

Minimum Wage and Part-Time Employees in Romania

The statutory monthly figure relates to the normal working schedule.

For employees whose lawful working schedule is shorter, minimum remuneration needs to be assessed according to the applicable working hours and statutory rules.

The Romanian Labour Code also provides that an employer cannot negotiate a contractual base salary below the statutory minimum gross hourly rate.

Employers should therefore avoid treating part-time employment simply as a percentage reduction of a full-time salary without checking the applicable hourly minimum and payroll rules.

Minimum Wage vs Market Salary in Romania

The minimum salary in Romania should not be used as a general salary benchmark for professional recruitment.

This is particularly important for international employers.

A legal minimum tells you the lowest salary permitted by law. It does not tell you what a software engineer, Finance Manager, Sales Director or multilingual customer-service specialist expects to earn.

Actual market salaries depend on factors including:

• profession;
• experience;
• seniority;
• location;
• language requirements;
• technical skills;
• management responsibility;
• industry;
• candidate scarcity;
• remote or office-based working arrangements;
• variable compensation;
• benefits.

Romania has major talent centres including Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara and Iași, and salary conditions can differ by location and profession.

A company entering Romania should therefore distinguish between three numbers:

Statutory minimum salary
The legal floor below which eligible employment cannot be structured.

Market salary
The compensation required to attract qualified candidates.

Competitive salary
The package required to persuade strong candidates to choose your company instead of competing employers.

For specialist and managerial recruitment, the second and third figures usually matter far more than the statutory minimum.

Why Salary Benchmarking Matters When Hiring in Romania

International employers sometimes begin recruitment with a salary budget based on assumptions from another market.

This can create problems before the first interview.

A budget that is too low may result in:

• a very small candidate pool;
• rejected interview invitations;
• low offer acceptance;
• longer time to hire;
• weaker candidates entering the process;
• early employee turnover.

A budget that is unnecessarily high can also distort internal compensation structures.

Salary benchmarking should therefore happen before recruitment begins.

Brain Source International can help international employers assess Romanian candidate availability and compensation expectations as part of the recruitment process.

Minimum Wage and Employment Contracts

Salary is a core element of the Romanian employment relationship.

Employers should ensure that the contractual salary is consistent with the statutory minimum applicable on the employee’s start date and remains compliant when the national minimum changes.

Romanian employment contracts must be concluded in writing before the employee starts work, and employment information is subject to registration requirements.

For international companies, this means compensation should be finalised before onboarding rather than left as an informal arrangement to be corrected after the start date.

The gross base salary, additional compensation and applicable benefits should be clearly distinguished in employment documentation.

Minimum Wage and Payroll Compliance

Minimum-wage compliance is ultimately a payroll issue as well as an employment-law issue.

A compliant payroll process should be capable of identifying when:

• the statutory minimum changes;
• an employee falls below the new threshold;
• a 24-month minimum-salary period is approaching;
• contractual salary has changed;
• payroll deductions need to be recalculated;
• benefits affect taxable remuneration;
• a new employee needs to be added to payroll.

For international companies employing people across several countries, these changes can become difficult to manage centrally.

The payroll team may need to track different minimum salaries, tax systems, contribution rates and employment rules for every jurisdiction.

This is one reason companies use local payroll or Employer of Record support when expanding internationally.

Minimum Wage and Employer of Record in Romania

A foreign company that wants to employ Romanian talent does not necessarily need to establish its own Romanian entity before making its first hire.

An Employer of Record in Romania can provide the local employment structure while the client company manages the employee’s day-to-day responsibilities.

The EOR can manage areas such as:

• locally compliant employment documentation;
• payroll;
• salary payments;
• statutory deductions;
• employment administration;
• leave records;
• employee changes;
• compliant offboarding.

The minimum wage and other Romanian labour requirements still apply.

The purpose of an EOR is not to bypass local employment law. It is to provide the local infrastructure through which employment obligations can be administered.

For companies planning to hire employees in Romania without an entity, this can be particularly useful during the early stages of market expansion.

Common Minimum Wage Mistakes Employers Should Avoid

Treating the Minimum Wage as Total Compensation

The RON 4,325 figure refers to the gross base salary. Employers should not assume that unrelated bonuses or additions can simply compensate for a base salary below the statutory level.

Confusing Gross and Net Salary

Romanian employment offers should state compensation clearly. Candidates and employers can otherwise be discussing very different figures.

Using Minimum Wage as a Recruitment Benchmark

The statutory minimum is rarely an appropriate benchmark for professional, specialist or management positions.

Forgetting the 24-Month Rule

An employee cannot generally remain indefinitely on the statutory national minimum salary. After the applicable 24-month period, the base salary must move above it.

Missing a Statutory Increase

Payroll processes need to monitor regulatory changes. The July 2026 increase from RON 4,050 to RON 4,325 is a good example.

Budgeting Only for Gross Salary

Employer-side contributions, benefits and administration should be included when calculating the true cost of hiring.

Planning to Hire Employees in Romania?

The statutory minimum wage is important for compliance, but it should not determine the entire hiring strategy.

Before recruiting in Romania, international employers should understand:

• realistic salaries for the required roles;
• gross-to-net payroll implications;
• total employer cost;
• benefits expected by candidates;
• employment contract requirements;
• payroll responsibilities;
• whether the company will employ directly or use an EOR.

Brain Source International can support the complete process, from identifying Romanian talent to establishing the employment and payroll structure required to hire that talent.

Our services include:

• Recruitment in Romania
• Executive Search
• Employer of Record in Romania
• Payroll Services
• Contractor Management
• HR Consulting

This allows companies to treat salary, recruitment and employment compliance as parts of the same workforce decision rather than separate administrative problems.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Minimum Wage in Romania

What is the minimum wage in Romania in 2026?

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

What was the minimum wage in Romania before July 2026?

From January 2025 through June 2026, the general national gross minimum base salary was RON 4,050 per month.

What is the hourly minimum wage in Romania?

From 1 July 2026, Government Decision No. 146/2026 sets the equivalent at RON 25.949 per hour, based on an average 166.667 hours per month.

Is RON 4,325 a gross or net salary?

It is a gross base salary before applicable employee taxes and social contributions.

Can bonuses be included in the Romanian minimum wage?

The RON 4,325 statutory amount is the minimum base salary, and the government decision specifies that bonuses and other additions are not included in that figure.

How long can an employee be paid the minimum wage in Romania?

The Romanian Labour Code generally permits the statutory minimum base salary to be paid to an employee for a maximum of 24 months from conclusion of the individual employment contract. After that, the employee must receive a base salary above the national minimum.

What contributions are deducted from salaries in Romania?

Under the general system, employee salary income is typically subject to 25% CAS social insurance, 10% CASS health insurance and 10% income tax applied to the relevant taxable base. Specific deductions and individual circumstances can affect the final net amount.

What does an employer pay on top of gross salary in Romania?

For normal working conditions, the standard employer work insurance contribution is generally 2.25%, although total employment cost can also include benefits, payroll administration and other employment-related expenses.

Is the minimum wage a good benchmark for hiring professional employees in Romania?

Usually not. Professional salaries are determined primarily by role, seniority, skills, location and demand for talent. Employers should use market salary benchmarking when establishing recruitment budgets.

Hire and Pay Employees in Romania With Brain Source International

Understanding the minimum wage in Romania is only one part of building a compliant local workforce.

Brain Source International helps international businesses manage the wider process — from finding qualified candidates to employment, payroll and ongoing HR administration.

Whether you already have a Romanian entity or want to hire employees in Romania without establishing one, we can help structure an appropriate solution.

Planning to hire in Romania?

Tell us the roles, expected headcount and target start date.

Contact Brain Source International to discuss recruitment, EOR and payroll support in Romania.