The Republic of Moldova is a small and densely populated landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south, which gained its independence in 1991. Moldova’s key industries include financial services, energy, utilities and mining, industrial products, pharmaceuticals, retail and consumer, technology, information, communications, and entertainment.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Moldova.
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Capital :
Chișinău
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Currency :
Moldovan leu (L; MDL)
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Languages spoken :
Romanian
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Population :
2.57 million (2021 est.)
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Minimum wage 2023 :
4,000 MDL per month
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Cost of Living index :
$ (123 of 139 countries)
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Payroll Frequency :
Monthly
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VAT - standard rate :
20%
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GDP - real growth rate :
13.9% (2021 est.)
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The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2024.
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Moldova is 10 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
The normal working hours of the employees in the enterprise may not exceed 40 hours per week.
At the employer’s request, employees may work outside work hours within 120 hours in a calendar year. In exceptional cases, this limit, with the agreement of employees’ representatives, can be extended up to 240 hours. Performance of additional work cannot have the effect of increasing the daily working time over 12 hours.
Employers must provide at least two months’ notice if they are terminating an employee for financial reasons, or just a month’s notice if the decision is due to unsatisfactory performance on the employee’s part. Employees who are being let go of misconduct are not entitled to a prior notice of termination.
Employees have the right to resign by giving a written request 14 calendar days in advance. The notice begins on the day immediately following the day on which the application is registered.
A period of three months is permissible to test an employee’s professional skills that may be extended up to a maximum of six months for employees selected for a key position. For positions with non-qualified employees, a trial period of 15 days is only allowed for exceptions.
Employees hired on the basis of a definite term individual labor contract can be subject to a trial period which must not exceed:
All employees have the right to an annual paid holiday, with a duration of not less than 28 calendar days without taking into account the non-working holidays. Paid holiday for the first year of work is given to the employee after six months of continuous work at the enterprise. The schedule of annual paid holidays in the following year is made by the employer, as agreed with the representatives of employees, not less than two weeks before the end of each calendar year.
A paid medical holiday is given to all employees and apprentices, on the basis of the medical certificate. The employer pays the employee during the first five days of sick leave, and a social security payment is available from the sixth day.
Women employees and the wives in the care of the employees are granted a partially paid holiday for child care until the child reaches the age of three. The grant is paid for during this period from the budget of the state social insurance. Partially paid holiday for childcare can also be used by the father of the child, grandmother, grandfather, or another relative who takes care of the child.
Women employees and the wives in the care of the employees are granted maternity holidays including prenatal holiday with a duration of 70 calendar days and postnatal holiday with a duration of 56 calendar days (in cases of complicated births or births of two or more children – 70 calendar days).
Parental leave is granted to fathers for 14 calendar days within the first 56 days after the child is born.
Employees directed to study by the employer in a higher or specialized secondary educational institution, higher educational institutions, and vocational institutions accredited according to the law, under correspondence and evening forms of study and have great success, are granted by the employer reduced working hours, additional holidays with full or partial preservation of the average wages, and other privileges in the order established by the Government.
On family circumstances and other valid reasons, the employee under a written application and with the consent of the employer can be on holiday without preservation of wages with a duration of up to 60 calendar days for which the employer issues an order.
Women with two or more children under the age of 14 (or a child – invalid under the age of 16), single parents, who are not married, having one child of the same age are granted annual holiday under their written application without preservations of wages, with a duration of not less than 14 calendar days. This holiday can be attached to the annual paid holiday or it can be used separately (completely or in parts) during the established periods, as agreed with the employer.
Further, women can also be given additional unpaid holidays on child nursing, aged three to six years while preserving their workplace position.
Through the public social security system (Casa Națională de Asigurări Sociale– CNAS), the state guarantees citizens the right to social protection in cases of old age, unemployment, illness, disability, and loss of maintenance through social payments – pensions, allowances, and other social insurance benefits. Through the CNAS, certain categories of citizens are granted social assistance benefits, the financing of which is carried out from the means of the state budget.
An overview of the social security contributions paid by the employer is given below:
| Type of Employer | Employer Contribution |
| Employers in the private sector, higher education, and medical institutions | 24% |
| Employers for employees working in special conditions | 32% |
| Employers in agriculture | 24%, with 18% paid by the employer and 6% by the state budget |
The mandatory health insurance contribution, computed as a percentage of wages and other remuneration, is established at 9% and fully borne by the employees.
Health insurance funds the expenses necessary for delivery of health care. Benefits include general, emergency, and outpatient medical care, and hospitalization. Free hospital treatment is provided for a limited number of days for insured persons. Employees also receive allowances from health insurance during periods of temporary incapacity.
The Moldovan employment injury insurance system provides a basic package of medical care and cash benefits. The first 20 days of work lost due to employment injuries are paid directly by employers. The remaining benefits are paid for by the national health insurance system and the national social insurance system, and financed by contributions from insured workers and employers.
Although the employers’ share in the national social insurance contribution is higher, there are no earmarked contributions for employment injury benefits. In addition, compensation is paid by employers in case of negligence in complying with safety regulations.
Unemployment benefits are financed by the social security system, CNAM.
The monthly amount of the unemployment benefit is established according to the circumstances in which the person ceased to work ranging from 40% to 50% of the average insured monthly income of the person achieved in the last 12 months of the last 24 calendar months. The benefits are paid for at least five months and at most nine months, depending on the length of the contribution period.
In the public system, the following categories of pensions are granted:
The right to an old-age pension is granted if the conditions regarding the retirement ages (63 years for males and 60 years for females) and the contribution period (15 years) have been met. All categories of pensions are financed by social security contributions.
The employer contributes a minimum of 24% towards social security.
The employer is mandated to grant employees an individual allowance of food, in the form of meal vouchers. It is forbidden for employers, when offering meal vouchers, to reduce the salary of employees receiving meal vouchers.
This allowance is paid to an insured person or another eligible person (a parent, grandparent, or other relative or guardian, regardless of family income) caring for a child younger than age three by social insurance. An insured person must have at least nine months of contributions in the last 24 months or a total of three years of contributions before the child’s birth. 30% of the insured’s average monthly earnings in the 12 months before the child’s month of birth is paid. An additional grant is paid for multiple births or the adoption of two children at the same time.
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