Procedure for disciplinary inquiry

1. Written report regarding the commitment of a disciplinary misbehaviour

This notification can be done by any person in the company if an employee observes a fact
that leads to disciplinary misbehaviour. Yet, it is more likely to be done by the team leader ,
because he knows better the situation of the employee. In this case, the first step is to
make a written report, is the main document that certifies the disciplinary inquiry. It is
mandatory that the report receives an order number in the register of the company.
2. Nominate a disciplinary committee
After receiving the report and analyzing it, the company decides a disciplinary committee
meeting. This decision will be made through a written notification, where the company
designates the members of the committee. There are no conditions or legal limits of
naming the members of Committee. From this Committee can be a person as an observer
or a legal representative of the employees.

As an ethic rule, the person who wrote the report in the first step shouldn’t be a member
of the committee.

3. Written notice of the employee subject to disciplinary inquire

The Labor Code indicates as follows: the employee will be summoned in writing by the
designated person, by the president of the Commitee or by the external consultant,
empowered by the employer, specifying the object, date, time and place of the meeting.

The summons in written form will be handed to the employee with the date and signature
of receipt, at least 5 business days before. If he refuses, the document can be sent to him
by mail / courier services at home, with confirmation of receipt.

In this document it must be clearly mentioned why it is convened, what is the purpose and
object of the meeting, date, time and place.

If the employee chooses not to be part of the meeting, without giving an objective reason,
the Committee may record this in the investigation report and may proceed to the
application of the disciplinary sanction.

An objective reason may be, for example, a medical emergency, a situation in which the
commission, notified in this regard, will reschedule the meeting for the purpose of
conducting disciplinary research.

Note: It should be mentioned that, Art. 52, par. (1), letter a, of the Labor Code, which
regulates the suspension of the employment contract at the initiative of the employer
during the disciplinary investigation, was abrogated, being declared unconstitutional by the
Decision of the Constitutional Court no. 261/2016.
 It is important to note that the suspension measure is not a consequence of the
initiation of the disciplinary investigation procedure. Thus, the suspension of the
individual employment contract for unmotivated absences may be ordered by decision
of the employer, subsequently the disciplinary investigation procedure may be
initiated. Only after disciplinary investigation can it be ascertained whether the
employee had objective reasons for his absences (he was unable to get to work due to
bad weather, calamities, medical conditions, serious family problems, accidents, etc.)
or was absent without reason from the workplace, situation in which it can be
disciplined, including with the termination of the individual employment contract.

4. The meeting of the employee with the members of Disciplinary Committee

In addition, the investigated employee has the right to be assisted, at his request, by an
external consultant specialized in labor law (lawyer) or by a representative of the trade
union of which he is a member.
During the investigation, the facts and their consequences will be established, the
circumstances in which you were committed, as well as any conclusive data on the
basis of which the existence or non-existence of guilt can be established.
In addition, the investigated employee has the right to be assisted, at his request, by an
external consultant specialized in labor law (lawyer) or by a representative of the trade
union of which he is a member.
During the investigation, the facts and their consequences will be established, the
circumstances in which you were committed, as well as any conclusive data on the
basis of which the existence or non-existence of guilt can be established.
The legislation does not require that the investigation be completed after only one
meeting. So that, depending on the need, there may be several meetings, and
following the evidence and discussions, the commission will issue a research report. .
Regardless of the result, this report must exist in order to record all the work of the
commission.
In case several meetings will be established, before each meeting, the condition of
convening the investigated employee must be fulfilled.
Listening to and verifying the defenses of the investigated employee are mandatory, so
it is recommended to take a written statement of the employee, based on which a
possible sanctioning decision can be taken, also proving the employee's right to
defense.
The investigation can be completed with the proposal of a sanction or vice versa,
without a proposal in this respect.

5. The proposal of sanctioning decision

If, following the completion of the disciplinary investigation, the commission finds that
the deed exists and was committed with employee guilt, it will propose the application
of a sanction from those provided in Art. 248 par. (1) of the Labor Code.
 As an exception, the written warning is the only sanction that can be ordered without
conducting a prior disciplinary investigation.
When establishing the sanction, the causes and gravity of the deed will be taken into
account, the circumstances in which it was committed, the degree of guilt of the
employee and the possible previous disciplinary violations committed by the employee.
The employer orders the application of the disciplinary sanction by a written decision,
issued within 30 calendar days from the date of becoming aware of the disciplinary
violation, but not later than 6 months from the date of the act.
Labor Code - art. 252 - provides the elements that will necessarily appear in the
sanctioning decision:
- description of the deed that constitutes a disciplinary violation;
- specifying the provisions from the staff statute, the internal regulation, the individual
employment contract or the applicable collective labor contract that were violated by
the employee;
- the reasons for which the defenses formulated by the employee during the
preliminary disciplinary investigation were removed or the reasons for which, under
the conditions provided in art. 251 para. (3), the research was not performed;
- the legal basis on the basis of which the disciplinary sanction is applied (art. 247-252
of Law no. 53/2003 Labor Code);
- the term in which the sanction can be challenged;
- the competent court to which the sanction can be challenged.

6. Communication of the sanctioning decision

The sanctioning decision will be communicated to the employee within 5 calendar days
from the date of issue and takes effect from the date of communication.
The communication is handed over personally to the employee, with the signature of
receipt, or, in case of refusal of receipt, by registered letter, at the domicile or
residence communicated by him.
If he is not agree with the terms , the sanctioned employee can address the competent
court within 30 calendar days from the date of communication of the sanctioning
decision.