ROMANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Oana Palita and Camelia Meirosu, Eversheds Sutherland Romania
of work be expressly agreed between the employer and the employee, either at the onset of employment or during the employment relationship, through a specific addendum. Aspects that refer to the place of work, working time, number of remote days versus on-site days, and reimbursement of telework costs are negotiated and documented through telework- specific documentation. While remote work (fully or partially) is still a wide - spread practice and is often offered as a benefit, the authors have seen a trend of employers tweaking this entitlement or transitioning back to fully/mostly office/ on-site hours. Confidentiality and Data Privacy Rules around confidentiality and the protection of data/data privacy are included in telework policies and documentation. Teleworkers are expected to adhere to the same or even stricter confidentiality and data protection standards compared to office-based employees. Use of the teleworker’s personal data (for example, to monitor adherence to the working hours, track productivity, limit the risk of fraud, etc) is carried out with the strict observance of GDPR rules, factoring in the particularity that employees are carrying out work in their own private space. Employees’ data may be collected and processed in compliance with the principles fundamentally established by legisla - tion – namely:
tions between the employer and the teleworker should be clearly established before this telework model is implemented. Teleworkers have particular obligations in so far as health and safety is concerned, including to provide access to their place of work when there are con - cerns from this perspective, and when an accident or a health and safety-related incident is investigated by the labour authorities. Similarly, employers have the obligation to ensure that the fact that the employee works in an isolated manner is accounted for and addressed. 5.2 Sabbaticals Romanian legislation does not yet include or regulate the concept of sabbatical leave. However, employers may offer the possibility for employees to take unpaid time off. Usually, this is subject to operational requirements, the employee’s historical performance and the number of days off requested by the employee, among other factors. 5.3 Other New Manifestations In line with trends in other EU jurisdictions, efforts are being made and measures being taken to promote flexibility at work and higher emphasis on work-life balance. While a shift can be seen from the widespread adop - tion and promotion of the benefits of remote working to the more traditional in-office model, recent changes in labour legislation still appear to favour the adoption of flexible work models – for example, parents may specifically request telework days, employees may request the adjustment of their working time pattern to accommodate their personal situation, etc. Four-Day Working Week The concept of a four-day working week has become more popular in Romania, though not as popular as in other EU jurisdictions. While there is no specific legislation addressing this type of work model (as the existing legal framework already allows it), a notable shift in this direction is yet to be seen.
• legality; • fairness; • transparency;
• purpose limitation; • data minimisation; • accuracy; • limitation of storage duration; and • ensuring data confidentiality and security. Occupational Health and Safety
Unlike office workers, teleworkers carry out their job primarily outside the supervision of the employer, using devices that are not audited or, in some cases, even provided by the employer. From this perspec - tive, the allocation of health and safety-related obliga -
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