Employer Responsibilities in Moral Harassment Claims under the Romanian Legislation

• Author: Isabela Delia Popa
• Pages: 122-129

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives. Proceedings 2017

122

Employer Responsibilities in Moral

Harassment Claims under the Romanian Legislation

Isabela Delia Popa1

Abstract: This paper addresses the grey legal area of moral harassment at work under the Romanian legislation,

with a focus on employer responsibil ities deriving from claims grounded on such discrimination deed. It p uts

under spot light an issue that Romanian employers confront with on a daily basis and which has not been

analysed and conceptualized up to the present. The author has relied on previous research she conducted with

respect to moral harassment at work, with the aim to build legislative propositions to be further considered

during the legislative process. The research outlines the currently applicable legal framework in Romania, as

well as the status quo of the files submitted with the courts of la w addressing moral harassment at work. The

paper synthetises the conclusions of the observations made throughout the last 4 years in p ractice (court

procedure). This paper highlights that, despite the efforts undertaken by the Romanian legislator in order to

ensure protection of employees at work, the concept of “moral harassment at work” does not benefit from any

regulation under the Romanian legislation. As a paradox, there is an outstanding number of court files initiated

by (former) employees against their employers, grounded on mobbing, that usually go through the two -stage

trial procedure (first phase of judgement and appeal), thus determining the courts of law to frame the concept

of moral harassment at work based on related legal concepts (discrimination, harassment, psychological

harassment). The study has implications for researchers, employees and employers, students and academics.

This paper stands out as a first le gal and practice research on the topic of employer r esponsibilities in moral

harassment claims under the Romanian legislation.

Keywords: mobbing; Romania; discrimination

JEL Classification: K31; K49

1 Introduction

The Romanian labour legislation has been conceived and projected to confer employees the highest

degree of protection possible. Considering the juridical inequality that exists between the employee and

the employer, in the context where the concept of subordination characterises the employment

relationship, the employee is presumed to be the “weak” joint of the employment chain and, thus, the

contractual party that must be safeguarded and harboured through the Romanian legislator’s efforts. As

a historical background, this approach was initiated in 2003, once with the adoption and enforcement of

the Law no. 53/2003 – the Romanian Labour Code, that – although amended and completed for over 30

times – is currently in force. Up to that moment in time, employees’ protection was illusory and non -

effective, being regulated through a normative act adopted by the communist regime, i.e., Law no.

10/1972 – the Labour Code of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

The extensive care of the Romanian legislator with respect to the protection that employees should

benefit from in connection with their employment has generated and led to a “pendulum effect” in as

1 Collaborator Assistant Professor, The National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA), Bucharest,

Romania; Lecturer, National Institute for the Training and Improvement of Lawyers (INPPA), Bucharest Centre, Bucharest,

Romania; PhD candidate, Faculty of Law of the University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania; Attorney-at-law, Bucharest Bar,

Romania; E-mail: isabela.popa@idplegal.com.