Suspension of the individual employment contract is a temporary situation in which the performance of contractual obligations is interrupted, without ending the employment relationship. It is regulated by the Labor Code and may intervene in various circumstances, either on the initiative of the employer, or of the employee, or by the agreement of the parties or by the effect of the law.

The suspension of the individual employment contract has as main effects the interruption of the work performance by the employee and the suspension of the employer’s obligation to pay the salary and other salary rights.

Suspension of rights and obligations does not apply if other rights and obligations are established by special laws, individual employment contracts or internal regulations. This concerns only the main effects of the individual employment contract, namely the provision of work and the payment of salary, or, as the case may be, other obligations of the employer or employee, without affecting the applicable collective labour agreement or the internal regulation. The exception is the situation in which the suspension is caused by a culpable act of the employee, in which case he will not benefit from any rights derived from his quality of employee.

The legal provisions do not require a mandatory content for the suspension decision, but it must contain the reasons justifying the measure taken by the employer. This is essential in order to guarantee the right of the employee to defense and to allow the court to verify the legality and the reliability of the suspension in case of an appeal.

In all situations, the effects of the suspension of the individual employment contract are produced from the date of communication of the suspension decision issued by the employer, and by analogy with the provisions of the Labor Code, the provisions on the decision to terminate the individual employment contract that produces effects only from the moment of communication to the employee.

The decision to suspend the contract implies both obligations for the employee, such as the termination of the work, and consequences, such as suspension of payment of salary rights, which is why it cannot produce effects before communication. Also, the employer’s decision must be registered in REVISAL.

In the following we will mention the cases in which the individual employment contract is suspended by right and we will detail some of them.

The individual employment contract is suspended by law:

1. maternity leave

The law establishes that employees are entitled to leave for pregnancy and confinement for a period of 126 calendar days. The contract will be suspended regardless of the duration of the contract, determined or indefinite, and regardless of the date on which the term of the individual employment contract would expire for the specified duration. The number of days of leave for pregnancy and confinement does not diminish the number of days of medical leave granted to the employee for other conditions.

2. leave for temporary incapacity for work

Suspension of the contract occurs as a result of a common or professional illness, whether or not it is related to the activity carried out by the employee. In this case, during the medical leave, the provision of work and the payment of salary will be suspended, but the employee will be entitled to an indemnity for temporary incapacity for work. This indemnity will be granted for a period of no more than 183 days within 1 year, calculated from the first day of illness. If the employee is not recovered after the 183 days, the primary doctor or the specialist in the employee’s condition may propose retirement for disability.

3. quarantine

The indemnity and leave for quarantine are granted to employees who are forbidden to carry out their activity due to a contagious disease, for the duration established by the certificate issued by the DSP. The monthly gross amount of the indemnity is 75% of the legal basis for calculation.

4. the exercise of a position within an executive, legislative or judicial authority, throughout the term of office, if the law does not provide otherwise;

5. the performance of a salaried management position in the trade union;

6. force majeure;

7. if the employee is remanded in custody, under the terms of the Criminal Procedure Code;

8. from the expiry date of the period for which the opinions, authorisations or attestations necessary for the exercise of the profession have been issued. If, within 6 months, the employee has not renewed his opinions, authorizations or attestations necessary for the exercise of the profession, the individual employment contract ceases by law;

9. in other cases expressly provided by law.

The legal suspension of the employment contract is an essential legal instrument that regulates the temporary interruption of the employee’s activity, without this involving the effective termination of the employment relationship. This mechanism is provided to protect both the interests of the employee and those of the employer in various exceptional situations that may arise in the economic activity.

Author: Atty. Felicia Cioflan