We all know about the full-time or normal working hours (8 hours a day and 40 hours a week), but how many of us have considered the existence of a legal maximum working time and what that might be?
There is no explicit provision regarding the maximum daily working hours, but from interpreting other provisions, it could be concluded that it cannot exceed 12 hours and, furthermore, must be followed by a 24-hour rest period.
However, there is an explicit provision regarding the maximum weekly working hours. According to the Labor Code, an employee's working time cannot exceed 48 hours per week. Exceptionally, there may be negotiated situations or situations imposed due to objective reasons related to work organization, where the maximum of 48 hours per week can be exceeded, provided that an average of 48 hours per week is not exceeded over a period of up to 12 months.
This legal maximum limit is provided for a single individual employment contract. However, the legislation does not specify anything in the case of multiple employment contracts held by the same employee.
According to Article 35 of the Labor Code, a natural person has the right to conclude multiple individual employment contracts with different employers or the same employer, with the sole condition that the working hours stipulated in the contracts do not overlap.
Nevertheless, there is an implicit prohibition resulting from the legal texts, namely the possibility of concluding two employment contracts for the same position with the same employer. It is considered that such a practice would deliberately circumvent the provisions related to the payment of overtime.
For similar reasons, namely protecting the employee against abuse by the employer, we believe that the conclusion of two or more individual employment contracts with the same employer (for different positions, as shown above) could only be done while respecting the maximum working time and the mandatory 24-hour rest period after a 12-hour workday.
We cannot interpret the situation of multiple employment contracts with different employers in the same way. In such a case, it is considered that the employee has acted consciously and voluntarily, and a limitation regarding the maximum number of hours accumulated from both contracts, although initially seen as a regulation that could protect them against overwork, must be interpreted as a restriction on the right to work.
EN 
RO