Gross minimum wage rises to 4,325 RON from 1 July. What it means for employees and employers

Starting Wednesday, 1 July 2026, the guaranteed national minimum gross basic salary rises from 4,050 RON to 4,325 RON per month. The change is established by Government Decision no. 146/2026, published in the Official Gazette of Romania no. 196 of 13 March 2026. This represents an increase of 6.8%, equivalent to an additional 275 RON in gross value.

What the new regulation states

The figure of 4,325 RON is set without bonuses or other additions, based on a standard working schedule averaging 166.667 hours per month, which equates to an hourly rate of 25.949 RON. For comparison, the minimum wage that applied from 1 January 2025 was 4,050 RON, calculated at 165.334 hours per month, or 24.496 RON per hour.

How take-home pay changes

In terms of take-home pay, the new minimum net salary amounts to 2,699 RON, a figure that includes a non-taxable deduction of 200 RON. In practice, the increase to net pay is 125 RON, compared to the previous level of approximately 2,574 RON.

For employers, the total cost of an employee paid at the minimum level comes to approximately 4,422 RON per month, a sum that includes the labour insurance contribution (CAM), according to calculations published by employment law specialists.

How many employees are affected

According to data from the Ministry of Labour, in March 2026 a total of 831,382 employees were paid at exactly the guaranteed minimum gross salary level. However, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity estimates that, in total, 1,759,027 employees will feel the effects of the increase — a figure that also includes people whose salary is directly linked to the national minimum, even if they are not paid strictly at this threshold.

Separate minimum wage for agriculture and the food industry abolished

On 16 April 2026, the Government adopted an emergency ordinance aligning the minimum wage in agriculture and the food industry with the general level. As a result, from 1 July, the article that had previously established a separate threshold for these sectors — set at 4,050 RON, the same as the old general minimum wage — is being removed.

According to a Government statement, the measure prevents wage disparities from emerging between sectors, given that without this alignment, the minimum wage in agriculture and the food industry would have remained below the new general threshold of 4,325 RON.

The minimum wage in construction remains unchanged for the time being, at 4,582 RON gross, a level established separately under Emergency Ordinance 156/2024.

What employers must do

All employers who currently have individual employment contracts with a basic salary below the new threshold of 4,325 RON gross must implement the changes from 1 July 2026, by means of addenda, and report the changes in Revisal within the statutory deadline prescribed for such situations.