The distribution of working hours during the week is usually uniform – eight hours per day for five days, with two days of rest, and the minimum weekly rest period is 48 consecutive hours, which are typically on Saturdays and Sundays. If work does not follow this pattern, meaning that the employee works on weekends as a rule or exceptionally, then several specific aspects of the Labor Code must be carefully analyzed.
The Labor Code does not require employers to include in individual contracts that Saturdays and Sundays are not days of rest. However, it is mandatory to mention weekly rest days in the internal regulations if there is no collective labor agreement concluded at the unit level. – In cases where rest on Saturdays and Sundays would prejudice public interest or the normal conduct of activities, the weekly rest may be granted on other days specified in the applicable collective labor agreement or internal regulations.
The granting of a weekly rest of at least 48 consecutive hours is not negotiable but mandatory for the employer. An employee’s schedule cannot be consistently arranged in such a way that two consecutive rest days are never connected.
For work on Saturdays and Sundays, an additional payment to the salary is mandatory and negotiated between the employer and the employee – this additional payment can be determined through the individual or collective labor agreement and should not be nominal (e.g., 1% of the salary).
Article 137 (2) of the Labor Code states that if the weekly rest is granted on days other than Saturday and Sunday, employees will receive an additional payment determined by the collective labor agreement or, as the case may be, the individual labor agreement.
Thus, the legislator has only established the obligation to provide an additional payment in the situation where the weekly rest is granted on days other than Saturday and Sunday, leaving the parties complete freedom to determine the amount and conditions of granting it through the collective labor agreement or, as the case may be, the individual labor agreement.
Therefore, as long as the law does not impose any conditions on granting the additional payment for weekly rest on days other than Saturday and Sunday but merely requires that it be negotiated in the form of percentages or a fixed amount. The amount, calculation method, and any other conditions related to the weekly rest additional payment must be negotiated with the employee and specified in the collective or individual labor agreement.
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Ana Maria Nistor – Attorney at Law
