GEO 32/2026 in Parliament: three amendments that could change the rules for employers, agencies and foreign workers

The law approving GEO no. 32/2026 on foreigners' access to the Romanian labour market is now before the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making chamber (PL-x no. 427/2026). According to public information about the report of the Committee for Labour and Social Protection, the report contains three amendments that would change important rules of the ordinance.

Important: these are proposals from a committee report, not law. Until the plenary vote and publication in the Official Gazette, the ordinance applies in its current form. The description of the amendments below is based on public reports about the committee report; we will check it against the official text and update this page.

Who is proposing the changes

The amendments do not come from the Government. The ordinance adopted by the Government in April 2026 provides the exact opposite on all three points. The changes were adopted in the Committee for Labour and Social Protection of the Chamber of Deputies in September 2026.

According to public information about the report, the debates were attended by representatives of public institutions and of several employers' organisations, including the Concordia Employers' Confederation, the Confederation of Entrepreneurs and Investors of Romania and the Employers' Association of Labour Importers (PIFM). The justification for one of the amendments states that placement agencies complained that the current ban prevents them from offering other services.

1. A guarantee of 5% of net wages

What the ordinance says today. Authorised employers and placement agencies may not ask foreign workers for guarantees or deposits to secure their obligations (art. 11 para. (3) and art. 23 para. (6)).

What would change. The employer would have the right to withhold 5% of the foreign worker's net monthly wage as a guarantee, deposited in a special bank account in the worker's name or in an escrow account. The guarantee could not exceed three times the gross national minimum wage. The money, with interest, would be returned within 15 working days if the contract ends through no fault of the employee. If it ends through the employee's fault, the guarantee could be enforced, under conditions to be set later by order.

Example: for a net wage of 3,000 lei, the amount withheld would be 150 lei per month.

Risks for the employer

• new administration: a separate account, monthly records, repayment with interest on time;
• disputes over enforcing the guarantee, because "the employee's fault" is not defined and the procedure depends on an order that does not exist yet;
• the measure may be challenged as different treatment based on citizenship, since it applies only to foreign workers.

Risks for the foreign worker

• lower monthly income for the whole duration of the contract;
• money blocked until the contract ends;
• losing the guarantee if leaving is considered "the employee's fault". The ordinance already limits changing employer during the first 6 months (art. 40 para. (2)).

Risks for the placement agency

• an offer that is harder to explain to recruited candidates;
• workers' questions and complaints landing at the agency that placed them.

2. Separate services paid by the worker

What the ordinance says today. Placement services are paid only by the employer (art. 23 para. (4)). The agency is forbidden from charging placed foreigners commissions, fees or charges (art. 23 para. (6)).

What would change. The ban would apply only to amounts related to the placement contract. Outside this contract, the agency could provide, at the foreigner's written request, administrative consultancy, guidance, integration or orientation services.

Risks for the placement agency

• a grey area: information, counselling and preparing documents are already part of the definition of placement services (art. 2 para. (2) letter a)). A service sold as "separate" may be treated, during an inspection, as a forbidden commission;
• fines and a risk to the licence if the service cannot be clearly separated from placement;
• reputational risk with employers and with authorities in the countries of origin.

Risks for the foreign worker

• costs on top of today's;
• pressure to sign the written request together with the other documents, without understanding what they are paying for.

Risks for the employer

• workers arriving in debt, and therefore higher staff turnover;
• reputational risk if the agency it works with charges workers.

3. Wages could be paid in cash

What the ordinance says today. The employer must pay wages into the foreign worker's bank account (art. 7 para. (1) letter a)). Breaching this is fined 5,000 to 10,000 lei for each worker (art. 42 para. (2) letter a)).

What would change. The obligation to pay into an account would be removed, together with the fine. The general rule of the Labour Code would apply, which also allows payment in cash.

Risks for the employer

• it loses the simplest proof of payment. In a labour dispute, it is the employer who must prove that wages were paid;
• signed payrolls can be challenged, and checking them takes time;
• greater exposure to inspections on undeclared work.

Risks for the foreign worker

• without a bank record, it is hard to prove non-payment or a deduction;
• it is harder to prove income when they need to.

For the placement agency the effect is indirect: more disputes between placed workers and employers.

What to do now

• Nothing applies yet. Until the law is published in the Official Gazette, the rules of the ordinance remain valid: no guarantees taken from the worker, no commissions from the worker, wages paid into an account.
• Do not change contracts or the way wages are paid based on these proposals.
• Follow the plenary vote in the Chamber of Deputies. The amendments may be adopted, changed or rejected.
• If you are a placement agency, talk to a lawyer before preparing services paid by workers.

We will update this page after the plenary vote.

For information only. This is not legal advice.