Romania proposes cutting public‑sector bonus cap from 30% to 20% of salary fund

A draft amendment to Romania’s public‑sector salary law, published by the Ministry of Labour on 17 July 2026, would lower the overall ceiling for bonuses, premiums and indemnities from 30 % to 20 % of the base‑salary fund. The limit is applied globally at the level of the principal credit authoriser and is calculated separately for each source of financing. While the cap is not an individual ceiling, the total amount of variable pay across all employees of a given budgetary unit must stay within the new 20 % share of the base‑salary pool.

The change reduces the available pool for variable remuneration by one‑third, meaning that for every 100 lei allocated to base salaries, only 20 lei could be used for bonuses and similar items. The regulation does not prevent an individual employee from receiving a bonus exceeding 20 % of their own salary, provided the overall aggregate remains under the limit.