In the Official Gazette of Romania no. 94 of February 5 2026, Decision no. 415 dated November 24 2025 of the High Court of Cassation and Justice was published, for the resolution of new legal issues (“Decision no. 415/2025”).

Decision no. 415/2025 provides important clarifications for employers who resort to work performed during weekly rest days.

Work performed on weekly rest days – the rule and the exception

The Labour Code provides that employees are entitled to a weekly rest period of 48 consecutive hours, usually granted on Saturdays and Sundays.

An employer may, however, request employees to work on weekly rest days, in respect of Article 137 paragraphs (2) and (3) of the Labour Code.

This employer must (a) uphold the employee's right to weekly rest by granting, in the same week in which the employee performs weekend work, the 48 hours of rest; and (b) compensate the work performed in these circumstances with an allowance on top of the base salary, stipulated in the individual employment agreement or in the applicable collective bargaining agreement, as the case may be.

Article 137 paragraphs (2) and (3) represent the rule regarding the performance and compensation of work on weekly rest days. The Labour Code provides, however, for an exception, namely Article 137 paragraphs (4) and (5).

The exception refers to continuous work performed by the employee, with no rest granted each working week, but rather cumulatively at the end of the continuous work period. This period cannot exceed 14 days.

Legal provisions require: (i) prior authorisation to proceed by the territorial labour inspectorate; (ii) approval from the trade union or employee representatives, as applicable; and (iii) granting a compensation consisting of double the overtime allowance, i.e. 150%.

In Decision no. 415/2025, the High Court of Cassation and Justice emphasized the exceptional nature of the provisions of Article 137 paragraphs (4) and (5). Thus, an employee is entitled to compensation amounting to 150% only when these specific circumstances are met.

Compensation for work on weekly rest days and for overtime – when and how they cumulate

Overtime is the work performed by employees outside their normal working hours. As a rule, it is compensated by paid time off within 90 calendar days after its performance. Where this is not possible, it shall be remunerated in the following month with an allowance of at least 75%, in accordance with Article 123 paragraph (2) of the Labour Code.

One and the same period of time may be considered both overtime and hours worked on weekly rest days, for which employees must be compensated accordingly. In practice, the relevant legal provisions have been interpreted in different ways, with the 150% compensation provided for in Article 137 paragraph (5) being considered automatically applicable to overtime performed on weekends. In fact, the concept of overlapping overtime and work on weekly rest days has led to the incorrect application of the law.

To further clarify this topic, below we illustrate two possible scenarios, both based on the working premise of an employee with an 8-hour/day, 40-hour/week work schedule, Monday through Friday. In the individual employment agreement, the parties have agreed on 10% of the base salary as an allowance for work performed on weekly rest days and 75% of the base salary as an allowance for overtime.

I. There is no cumulation

Starting from the aforementioned premise, let us suppose that the employer requests the employee to work on Saturday and Sunday, granting the employee Monday and Tuesday, from the same week, as days off.

The employee therefore works five days, from Wednesday to Sunday, representing a total of 40 hours in that week. The employee only works on weekly rest days, but does not perform overtime, as the normal working time of 40 hours/week is observed. Furthermore, the conditions set out in Article 137 paragraph (4), namely the authorisation of the territorial labour inspectorate and the approval of the trade union/employee representatives, are not met in order for the employee to qualify for compensation equal to double the overtime bonus, i.e. 150%.

Therefore, in this scenario, the employee is entitled to: (a) the two compensatory days off, Monday and Tuesday; and (b) a remuneration of 110% (base salary + 10% allowance provided for in the individual employment agreement) for the work performed on Saturday and Sunday.

II. There is cumulation

Let us assume, for this scenario, that the employer requests the employee to work on Saturday and Sunday, 4 hours/day, on top of their regular working hours (Monday-Friday).

The employee thus works 48 hours during this week, exceeding the normal working time of 40 hours per week. Such a scenario would also violate the employee's right to weekly rest. Moreover, the conditions set out in Article 137 paragraph (4), namely the authorisation of the territorial labour inspectorate and the approval of the trade union/employee representatives, are not met in this scenario either, for the employee to qualify for compensation equal to double the overtime bonus, i.e. 150%.

In this scenario, the employer: (a) is obligated to pay the employee a remuneration of 185% for the work performed on Saturday and Sunday (base salary + 10% allowance for work performed on Saturday and Sunday + 75% allowance for overtime, in the event that compensation through paid time off is not possible); and (b) risks administrative sanctions for breaching mandatory rules on weekly rest time, as the employee did not enjoy the 48 consecutive hours of rest within the same week.

In light of Decision no. 415/2025, the same contractual allowance of 10% for work on weekly rest days applies in both scenarios. The High Court of Cassation and Justice concluded that the legal compensation of 150% provided for in Article 137 paragraph (5) and the overtime allowance are separate rights. Article 137 paragraph (5) does not seek to compensate the employee for exceeding their normal working hours, but for the loss of the standard weekly rest, under the strictly defined conditions of Article 137 paragraph (4).

In conclusion, the scenarios outlined above represent the way employees who work on weekly rest days should be compensated, while not falling under the provisions of Article 137 paragraph (4). The employer will be required to pay the allowance stipulated in the individual employment agreement for the work performed on weekly rest days, rather than the 150% compensation, which becomes applicable when the conditions of Article 137 paragraph (4) are met, namely the performance of continuous work, the authorisation of the territorial labour inspectorate and the agreement of the trade union/employee representatives.

Decision no. 415/2025 is mandatory and has become effective on February 5 2026.