The job description is a document detailing the requirements, tasks, and responsibilities assigned to the position holder (employee), working conditions, performance standards, and the special characteristics required for the employee to perform their role. This document is mandatory upon hiring, as it is an annex to the individual employment contract signed and agreed upon by the employee.
The job description is drafted by the employer based on the COR (Classification of Occupations in Romania) position for which they hire staff. It must include the specific obligations and tasks of the job. Additionally, the employer can incorporate the internal title used within the company for certain roles.
According to Article 17 of Law no. 53/2003 – updated Labor Code, modifications and additions to the job description can be made based on the job responsibilities included in the individual employment contract (the job description being an annex to this contract). In principle, changes can only be made through an additional act to the employment contract.
Thus, Article 17 para. (3) letter d) stipulates that the employee must be informed about the job description content, specifying their duties. Paragraph (4) states: “(4) The elements in the information provided under para. (3) must also be included in the content of the individual employment contract, except for the information listed in letters m), o), and p).”, while paragraph (5) provides that “(5) Any change to one of the elements provided under para. (3) during the execution of the individual employment contract requires the conclusion of an additional act to the contract before the change is made, except in cases where such a change is expressly provided by law or the applicable collective labor agreement.”
The modification of the individual employment contract is also explicitly regulated by the Labor Code in Articles 41 – 48, which must be considered in situations of modification, updating, or completion of the job description.
In certain specific cases, unilateral modification by the employer can only involve the workplace (Article 42 – delegation and secondment). Article 48 only provides the possibility for the employer to temporarily change the workplace and type of work without the employee’s consent in cases of force majeure, as a disciplinary sanction, or as a protective measure for the employee, under the conditions provided by applicable legislation.
Thus, any modification to one of the employment contract clauses or its annex (job description) is made through an additional act, and an internal company decision alone is insufficient for this purpose.
When signing the individual employment contract, employees cannot refuse to sign the job description. However, if it later requires updating through the modification of essential elements, including introducing new duties, the employee’s agreement will be necessary by signing an additional act. It is worth noting that if the new duties established by the employer comply with the law and the company’s internal regulations and do not involve modifying the COR function or affect the nature of the work performed, the employee does not have a legal basis to refuse signing the additional act and the updated structure of the job description.
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Ana Maria Nistor – Attorney at Law