Moral Harassment

18 Nov Moral Harassment

Law 167/2020, published on 7 August 2020 in the Official Gazette no. 713 (hereinafter referred to as the “Law”), amends Government Emergency Ordinance no. 137/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, and supplements Law no. 202/2002 on equal opportunities for women and men.

In essence, the Law introduces a number of amendments concerning the so-called “mobbing” — that is, acts and behaviours of harassment in the workplace — and we will briefly describe below the most important provisions:

1. Moral Harassment – Definition

Any conduct exercised towards an employee by another employee who is their hierarchical superior, by a subordinate and/or by a hierarchically comparable employee, in connection with employment relations, and which has the purpose or effect of deteriorating working conditions by violating the employee’s rights or dignity, by affecting their physical or mental health, or by jeopardising their professional future, manifested in any of the following forms: hostile or unwanted conduct; verbal comments; actions or gestures.

Furthermore, any conduct which, by its systematic nature, is capable of harming the dignity, physical or mental integrity of an employee or group of employees, thereby endangering their work or degrading the working environment, also constitutes moral harassment in the workplace.

It should be emphasised that, within the meaning of the Law, stress and physical exhaustion fall within the scope of moral harassment in the workplace.

2. Obligations of Employers

• to take all necessary measures to prevent and combat acts of moral harassment in the workplace, including by providing in the company’s internal regulations for disciplinary sanctions for employees who commit acts or deeds of moral harassment in the workplace;
• it is prohibited for the employer, in any form, to establish internal rules or measures that would oblige, cause or induce employees to commit acts or deeds of moral harassment in the workplace;

1. Obligations of Employers

• to take all necessary measures to prevent and combat acts of moral harassment in the workplace, including by providing in the company’s internal regulations for disciplinary sanctions for employees who commit acts or deeds of moral harassment in the workplace;
• it is prohibited for the employer, in any form, to establish internal rules or measures that would oblige, cause or induce employees to commit acts or deeds of moral harassment in the workplace;
• to disciplinary sanction employees who commit acts or deeds of moral harassment in the workplace, in accordance with the law and the employer’s internal regulations;
• no employee shall be sanctioned, dismissed or discriminated against, directly or indirectly, including with regard to remuneration, professional training, promotion or extension of the employment relationship, on the ground that they have been subjected to or have refused to be subjected to moral harassment in the workplace.

Our recommendation is to adapt the company’s Internal Regulations with measures to prevent acts of moral harassment so that it is brought into compliance with the provisions of the Law.

1. Sanctions Applicable to Employers in Case of Non-Compliance

Pursuant to the Law, the National Council for Combating Discrimination is the authority that finds the commission of contraventions and applies contravention sanctions.

The following constitute contraventions:

• the employer’s failure to take all necessary measures to prevent and combat acts of moral harassment in the workplace, including by providing in the company’s internal regulations for disciplinary sanctions for employees who commit acts or deeds of moral harassment in the workplace and is sanctioned with a contravention fine from RON 30,000 to RON 50,000;
• the establishment by the employer, in any form, of internal rules or measures that would oblige, cause or induce employees to commit acts or deeds of moral harassment in the workplace and is sanctioned with a contravention fine from RON 50,000 to RON 200,000;
• the employer’s failure to implement the measures ordered by the Council and is sanctioned with a fine from RON 100,000 to RON 200,000.

The court, upon being notified by an employee against whom acts of harassment have been committed, if it finds that such acts have been committed, may order:

• the employer to take all necessary measures to stop any acts or deeds of moral harassment in the workplace with respect to the employee concerned;
• the reinstatement of the employee in question to the workplace;
• the employer to pay the employee compensation equal to the salary entitlements of which the employee was deprived;
• the employer to pay compensatory and moral damages to the employee;
• the employer to pay the employee the amount necessary for psychological counselling that the employee requires, for a reasonable period determined by the occupational health physician;
• the employer to amend the employee’s disciplinary records.

1. Sanctions Applicable to Employees in Case of Non-Compliance

Moral harassment in the workplace committed by an employee, by violating the rights or dignity of another employee, constitutes a contravention and is punishable by a fine from RON 10,000 to RON 15,000.

For any questions or clarifications regarding the above, we are at your disposal.