Is vocational training mandatory for employees? If participation in vocational training programmes is not ensured due to lack of financial resources, what are the risks for the company?

Law no. 53/2003 Labour Code, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, stipulates that employers are obliged to ensure participation in vocational training programmes for all employees, as follows: a) at least once every 2 years, if they have at least 21 employees; b) at least once every 3 years, if they have less than 21 employees. In these situations, the costs of participation in vocational training programmes are borne by the employers.

The forms of vocational training are varied and do not necessarily involve a long period of time and high costs for the employer. Training can be organised at minimal expense, even in the workplace. If the employer does not ensure the employee's participation in a form of vocational training, the employee is entitled to a training leave, paid by the employer, of up to 10 working days or up to 80 hours. In this case, the leave allowance will be determined in accordance with the law. The period during which the employee is entitled to paid leave is agreed with the employer.

Therefore, if you, as the employer, do not ensure the participation of employees in a vocational training course, they can identify a course/training course themselves and request the paid leave provided for in the Labour Code.

It is therefore necessary to analyse the costs of a form of vocational training organised by the employer in relation to the costs of paid leave for vocational training that the employee can request if the employer does not organise the training himself.

It is very important to note that the amendments made to the Labour Code by Law No 283/2022 oblige the employer to inform the employee about vocational training issues. Also, the new model of the individual employment contract contains a mandatory clause on vocational training.

Therefore, the conditions under which vocational training takes place become mandatory to be included in the individual employment contract and therefore it is a contractual obligation of the employer.

In the Labour Code there is no specific sanction for the employer who does not comply with these obligations regarding vocational training, but non-compliance can lead to labour conflicts when employees are informed that they have certain rights and the employer does not respect them.

Author: Attorney at law, Ana Maria Nistor, Law Office Grecu & Partners.

• This is native content with Labour Law info by Grecu Partners.