Employment
Employment

We help our clients create better workplaces

Romania’s employment law landscape is complex and constantly changing. We know that Romanian employers and executives often require fast responses and timely solutions to difficult employment law questions. Our years of practical experience and ready familiarity with Romania’s sometimes-quirky statutes and law rules enable us to quickly arrive at solutions to even the most complicated problems.

We recognize that employers and executives need not only immediate and insightful legal guidance, but practical advice as well. As a result, we partner with our clients to find real-world solutions to their employment law problems, recognizing our clients’ need to balance litigation-avoidance with aggressive pursuit, or defense, of their interests.

Employment agreements and policies

Employment litigation frequently implicates the employer’s policies or agreements. It is therefore critical that such agreements be well-conceived and well-drafted. Our expertise in litigating issues involving employment policies and agreements, as well as our years of experience drafting those documents, enable us to prepare employment-related documents for our clients that not only comply with Romania’s ever-changing employment laws but that will bolster, not undermine, our clients’ defense should litigation ever arise.

TUPE

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) is a notoriously complex area of law which can apply to a number of transactions, including the sale or acquisition of a business or a change in service provider. Aside from the complex rules and regulations, it can also be difficult for employers to anticipate when TUPE will be applicable. The consequences of failing to comply with TUPE can result in heavy financial penalties for employers.

We will provide frank, practical guidance to assist you through due diligence, contract negotiations and a smooth business transfer.

Reorganisations

In the current economic climate a number of businesses will require assistance in reorganising their workforce in order to maximise the potential of the business. It is widely recognised that dismissals resulting from reorganisation within your business can be justified only if it is necessary to preserve your competitiveness.

We can offer expert and practical advice before, during the restructuring process and have experience in:

  • preparing a step-by-step guide to reorganisation, and assistance in redundancy processes and consultation
  • drafting consultation scripts and correspondence for use within the workforce
  • highlighting any potential risks and how to minimise them, whilst keeping your commercial aims in mind

Collective redundancy

We have extensive practical experience in guiding employers through this process and we can provide you with the highest level of expert advice on your selection pools, selection criteria, scoring methods, scripts for meetings and record keeping. It is crucial that employers comply with all their obligations during the process to avoid the potential financial penalties and we will provide you with clear advice to ensure minimum disruption to your business.

Workplace investigations

Conducting thorough and neutral investigations of workplace misconduct is not only good business practice but legally mandated in Romania when the allegations involve unlawful harassment or discrimination. Regardless of the nature of the allegations, it is critical that workplace investigations be conducted promptly, diligently, and with appropriate respect for a company’s corporate culture.

We advise and counsel clients in conducting their own investigations of complaints of workplace misconduct. We also conduct such investigations on behalf of our clients. In these situations, our attorneys prepare investigation reports to help our clients determine the underlying facts and proceed in a lawful, ethical, and business-appropriate manner. Our extensive experience in litigating employment claims gives us a unique perspective and substantial expertise in assisting with and conducting such investigations.

Workplace training

A few quality training sessions can save an employer years of litigation distraction and attorneys’ fees. From anti-harassment training to management training, we offer in-depth interactive training programs that make sense of the relevant legal standards and offer practical suggestions to meet those standards. Through our training programs, we translate often opaque legal concepts into meaningful and useful guidance for all levels of employees. Our training sessions do not merely recite relevant law, but are specifically targeted to the work experiences of the participants and include real-world hypotheticals to make the experience interesting and engaging. Our training programs not only ensure our clients’ compliance with Romanian Employment Code, but reduce exposure to costly employment litigation down the road.

Our attorneys also regularly advise and counsel companies, and their boards of directors, board and management committees, on sensitive internal investigations, internal employment compliance audits, diversity initiatives and compensation arrangements. We also provide training and guidance on personnel policies and procedures to help businesses take preventative measures on matters such as employee performance problems, workforce consolidations, whistleblower claims, and discrimination and harassment complaints.

Preventative services

Through the firm’s preventive services program, Lospa Lawyers’ attorneys assist clients in implementing policies and programs that allow for the early detection and resolution of employment disputes. The firm also ensures that its clients take full advantage of the legal protections available to employers by

  • providing counseling and advice on day-to-day employment Issues
  • drafting and reviewing employee handbooks and policies
  • drafting employee severance agreements and releases
  • auditing employment practices and wage and hour compliance
  • advice regarding workforce changes, including layoffs and reductions in force
  • litigation-avoidance counselling

Trade union issues

We have extensive experience and a strong track record in labor and employee relations. We can work with you to manage relationships with local and national works councils, to negotiate with local and national trade unions, to proactively respond to EU-OSHA and ILO labor standards and to build positive employee relations. Our aim is to minimize risk to your business and to help you to avoid disruption caused by damaging labor disputes.

Our experience includes:

  • local and national labor relations strategy
  • international labor standards, including EU-OSHA and ILO standards
  • national and cross-border mass redundancies/layoffs and restructuring
  • national and cross-border strikes and other industrial action
  • national and European works councils
  • negotiating trade union experts
  • collective bargaining agreements and arbitration
  • claims for trade union recognition and election contests
  • the impact of Brexit on global labor relations
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