Labour Inspectors are not allowed to analyse the content of collective labour contracts

According to the legal regulations in force, for a collective labour contract to take effect it must be officially registered by the competent authorities. The territorial labour inspectorates will proceed with the registration of collective labour contracts after verifying that the procedural conditions laid down in Law no. 367/2022 have been met. Employers must be very vigilant in respecting the conditions and clauses concerning the procedure for electing the employees’ representative, as well as those for negotiating and drafting the collective labour contract in the case of companies with at least 10 employees.

If these conditions are not met, collective labour contracts will be returned to the signatories for the fulfilment of the legal requirements. Therefore, labour inspectors are given the power to verify the fulfilment of the conditions required by law with regard to collective labour contracts, but only those relating to the procedure. 

If the labour inspector refuses to register a collective labour contract on the grounds that it contains an unfair clause or a clause which is contrary to the law, he is exceeding his powers given by law. That’s because only a judge can examine whether a clause in a collective labour contract is in accordance with the law and, if it’s not, declare it void of legal effects. 

The terms of the collective labour contract are not left to the discretion of the labour inspectors, who are only empowered to check the procedural conditions for the purpose of registering the contract. If one of the parties of the contract claims that one or more of the clauses infringes any legal provisions, it can refer the matter to the court for a ruling as to whether the content of the collective labour contract is actually contrary to the law.

If you need legal support regarding the procedure for electing the employees’ representative, but also for for drafting and registering the collective labor contract, you can confidently contact Grecu Partners specialists at office@grecupartners.ro or by phone 031.426.0745.