You accepted an offer, agreed the salary and started work, but the contract was postponed until "next week". An employer's promise does not replace a contract. The employer must conclude it in writing, give you a copy and report its details in REGES-ONLINE before you start work.
The delay leaves you without clear contractual proof of your salary, schedule, position or start date. An employer that wants to assess whether you are a good fit can use the statutory probation period, which begins only after the contract has been concluded.
What must be in place before your first day
Article 16 of the Romanian Labour Code places the main duties on the employer. No later than the day before work begins, the individual employment contract must be concluded in writing and its details reported in the general employee register, REGES-ONLINE. The employer must give you a copy before you start.
Check that both parties signed your copy and that it reflects the terms you negotiated. Relevant items include:
- start date and contract duration;
- position, workplace and duties;
- gross base salary, supplements and payment date;
- working hours, schedule and overtime terms;
- duration and conditions of probation;
- annual leave and notice period.
A job offer, welcome email, confidentiality agreement or job description does not replace an individual employment contract. If the offer states a gross amount, the article on converting a gross salary range to net pay helps you estimate the amount paid into your account. You can also start with the example for 5,000 lei gross to net.
"Let's see how it goes first" means probation, not undeclared work
An employer can assess an employee's abilities through a probation period specified in the contract. It may last up to 90 calendar days for non-managerial positions and 120 calendar days for managerial positions. The law sets different limits in some special cases.
During probation, you have the same rights and duties as any employee. You receive the agreed salary, the period counts toward seniority, and the employer reports and pays the related taxes. The Romanian Labour Inspectorate states that probation takes place within a contract concluded before work begins.
Probation also gives both parties a simpler way to end the relationship. Under Article 31(3) of the Labour Code, either party may terminate the contract during or at the end of probation by written notice, without a notice period or reasons. An employer does not need several days of undeclared work to test the arrangement.
A short recruitment exercise is not automatically a day of work. Risk increases when you receive a schedule and ordinary tasks, get access to company tools, and deliver work the employer uses under its direction. Calling the activity a "test" does not by itself change its nature.
Risks of agreeing to work without a contract
The Labour Code treats both admitting a person to work without a written contract and admitting them without reporting the contract details in the register by the day before work begins as undeclared work. A signed contract that was not reported in REGES-ONLINE on time does not satisfy the second duty.
Your first problems arise when you need to prove what the parties agreed. Without your copy of the contract and the REGES entry, the employer may dispute your start date, schedule, position or promised salary. Recovering the money and having the period recognised may depend on messages, emails, timesheets, delivered files, transfers and witnesses.
Until the details are reported, the period does not appear in your REGES-ONLINE extract. If the employer also failed to report income and contributions for tax purposes, those amounts will not appear in tax and insurance records either. Check the two situations separately. Missing legal documents also make a workplace accident harder to prove.
The person who accepts work without a contract also faces a contravention fine. Article 260(1)(f) of the Labour Code sets a fine of 500 to 1,000 lei for working under these conditions.
The fine for no written contract is 40,000 lei per person
The 20,000 lei figure still found online is outdated for the absence of a written contract. Since 18 December 2025, Law no. 239/2025 has imposed a fine of 40,000 lei for each person admitted to work without an individual employment contract. Total fines imposed on one employer for this offence cannot exceed 1,000,000 lei.
If a written contract exists but its details were not reported in the register, Article 260(1)(e^1) separately imposes a fine of 20,000 lei per person, capped at 200,000 lei in total. Government Decision no. 295/2025 separately regulates cases where the employer can prove the work performed and salary paid, and reported the income to ANAF. Classification depends on the facts found by labour inspectors.
The Botoșani Territorial Labour Inspectorate explained the new amounts in a January 2026 notice. A labour inspector may also order the workplace to suspend activity under the Labour Code until the employer remedies the situation and meets the legal requirements.
A fine imposed on the company does not guarantee payment of your salary or correction of your record. An ITM inspection, recovery of salary rights and a legal finding that an employment relationship existed are separate matters that may require different proceedings.
How to check whether your employer registered you
Your signed copy is the first check, but you should also confirm registration in REGES-ONLINE. In the employee application, you can request an individual or consolidated extract. The official REGES-ONLINE guide explains login, extract generation and the "Notify" option for flagging incorrect information to an employer active on the platform.
Check the employer, contract number and date, start date, position, working hours and salary in the extract. If the salary differs from the amount discussed, first check whether your signed copy contains the correct figure. If it does, ask the employer to check the details reported in REGES; if it does not, the offer was not carried into the contract.
For part-time work, check the hours as well as the monthly salary. The article on two-, four- and six-hour part-time contracts lets you compare the tax effects.
What to do if you have already started work
Do not wait for another verbal promise. Request the contract and written confirmation of your real start date. Do not accept a later date that omits days already worked.
Keep evidence you can access lawfully:
- the offer and conversations about salary and the start date;
- work emails and instructions;
- schedules, timesheets and submitted work;
- proof of payments or work-related expenses;
- names of people who can confirm the activity.
Then check your REGES-ONLINE extract. If the employment relationship is missing or contains incorrect data, use the platform notification and submit a petition to the Romanian Labour Inspectorate. Recovering unpaid salary or having the worked period recognised may also require court proceedings; a lawyer or trade union can help you choose the appropriate action.
If the employer registers the contract later, check the start date and every term. A late registration must retain the date on which you actually began work.
Do not start work before receiving the contract
Do not begin work based only on statements such as "we'll do the paperwork after we see how it goes", "the first few days are probation" or "the contract is with accounting". Ask for the signed copy and check that its date, salary and schedule match the offer.
You can estimate net pay with the salary calculator, but the calculation starts from the gross salary and terms stated in the contract. A verbal promise does not offer the same protection and cannot be checked against tax records.
Sources and verification date
We checked this information on 5 August 2026 against the consolidated Labour Code, Law no. 239/2025, Government Decision no. 295/2025 on REGES-ONLINE and guides published by the Romanian Labour Inspectorate. This article describes the general rule. Proving an employment relationship, recovering salary and determining the effects of an accident depend on the facts and evidence in each case.