This chapter gives details of the most important cash benefits provided to people who suffer an accident at work or acquire an occupational disease.

The benefits described are:

• temporary work incapacity benefit (indemnizație pentru incapacitate temporară de muncă);
• allowance for temporary assignment to another work (indemnizație pentru trecerea temporară în alt loc de muncă);
• allowance for reduction of working time (indemnizație pentru reducerea timpului de muncă).

In what situation can I claim?

Temporary working incapacity benefits (indemnizație pentru incapacitate temporară de muncă) are paid to people who are insured for accidents at work and occupational diseases if they become temporarily unable to work due to a work accident or an illness acquired as a result of working.

Allowances for temporary assignment to another work (indemnizație pentru trecerea temporară în alt loc de muncă) are paid to people who are insured for accidents at work and occupational diseases if they have to change their job temporarily due to a work accident or an illness acquired as a result of working.

Allowances for reduction of working time (indemnizație pentru reducerea timpului de muncă) are paid to people who are insured for accidents at work and occupational diseases if they can no longer work full-time due to an accident at work or an illness acquired as a result of working.

What conditions do I need to meet?

To receive any of these three benefits, a person must live or be resident in Romania and be insured against the risk of accidents at work or occupational diseases.

The categories of persons who have compulsory insurance for these risks are:

• persons who are employed under an individual contract of employment, including foreign nationals or stateless persons who work for Romanian employers while they live or are resident in Romania;
• persons who are elected to the positions that they hold and who work for an executive, legislative or judicial institution in Romania;
• civil servants;
• unemployed during vocational training;
• apprentices, pupils and students during vocational training;
• volunteers working in voluntary emergency services under the Voluntary Contract;
• Romanian nationals who work abroad for Romanian employers.

Territorial pension authorities exercise special insurance powers for accidents at work and occupational diseases.

Work insurance contribution is paid by employers or legal entities similar to an employer.

Entitlements to benefits and insurance services for accidents at work and occupational diseases start on the date when the insurance relationship begins and end at the same time as this relationship.

Benefits for temporary incapacity to work due to accidents at work or occupational diseases are paid on the basis of a medical certificate issued in accordance with legal provisions.

Allowances for temporary assignment to another work and for reduction of working time are paid on the recommendation of the attending doctor, with the approval of the insurer's doctor, if the monthly gross wage earned in the new job or as a result of the reduction of normal working hours is lower than the average monthly income earned over the 6 months prior to the accident or before the condition is detected.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

Temporary working incapacity benefit

These benefits are calculated as 80% (or 100% for medical emergencies) of the average gross income that the person earned over the 6 months prior to the work accident or before contracting the occupational disease. If the insurance period is less than 6 months, the allowance is calculated on the basis of the average gross income earned per month or of the average gross income recorded in the voluntary insurance contract.

This benefit is paid for a period of 183 days in a year and can be extended to a maximum of 273 days.

This benefit is subject to income tax.

Allowance for temporary assignment to another work

This allowance is paid monthly and is calculated as the difference between the average gross income earned by the insured person over the 6 months prior to the accident or before contracting the disease and the gross monthly income earned in the new job.

The value of this allowance cannot exceed 25% of the average gross monthly income earned over the 6 months prior to the accident or before contracting the disease.

It is paid for a period of up to 90 days in a year, in one or more stages.

This allowance is subject to income tax.

Allowance for reduction of working time

This allowance is paid monthly and is calculated as the difference between the average gross income earned by the insured person over the 6 months prior to the accident or before contracting the disease and the gross monthly income earned following the reduction of working time.

The amount of this allowance cannot exceed 25% of the average gross monthly income earned over the 6 months prior to the accident or before contracting the disease.

It is paid for a period of up to 90 days in a year, in one or more stages.

This benefit is subject to income tax.

To receive a temporary working incapacity benefit, the employee must submit a request to his or her employer. The request must be accompanied by the medical certificate specifying the code of the work accident or occupational disease.

Employees can submit a request for an allowance for temporary assignment to another work or an allowance for reduction of working time to the employer.

Jargon busters

• Accident at work: violent bodily injury or acute work-related intoxication which occurs during work or while carrying out work duties and which results in temporary incapacity to work for at least 3 calendar days, invalidity or death.
• Occupational disease: condition which results from the pursuit of a trade or profession and is caused by harmful physical, chemical or biological agents that are characteristic of the job, or from excessive strain on various bodily organs or systems during work.

Forms you may need to fill in

• Application

Know your rights

The links below give more information about your rights and obligations. These websites do not belong to the European Commission and do not represent the position of the European Commission on the subject concerned:

• Law on insurance for work accidents and occupational diseases
• General information about benefits and insurance services for work accidents and occupational diseases

Publications and websites of the European Commission:

• EU Social Security Coordination

Who do you need to contact?

County state pension authorities