Legislation in the field of VOLUNTEERING in Romania

LAW no. 78 of 24 June 2014 regulating volunteering in Romania

PUBLISHED: OFFICIAL JOURNAL no. 469 of June 26, 2014

    ART. 1

    (1) This law regulates the participation of individuals in volunteer activities for the benefit of other persons or companies, organized by non-profit legal persons governed by public law or private law.

    (2) Volunteering is an important factor in creating a competitive European labour market and at the same time in the development of vocational education and training as well as in enhancing social solidarity.

    ART. 2

    (1) The Romanian State recognizes the social value of volunteering as an expression of active citizenship, solidarity and social responsibility, as well as professional value as an expression of the personal, professional; inter cultural and linguistic development of persons conducting these activities.

    (2) The State supports the development of the volunteer movement at local, national and international level, respecting its independence and diversity, in order to fulfil its artistic and cultural, sporting and recreational, educational, scientific, research, youth, representation, environmental health, social, solidarity, community development, humanitarian, civic and philanthropic aid, and others.

    (3) The Romanian State supports the development of volunteering through all its institutions operating in volunteer areas under the law.

    ART. 3

    For the purposes of this law, the terms and expressions below have the following meanings:

    (a) Volunteering is the participation of a volunteer individual in activities of public interest for the benefit of other persons or companies, organized by non-profit legal persons governed by public law or private law without remuneration, individually or in groups;

    b) the activity of public interest is the activity carried out in such fields as: art and culture, sport and recreation, education and research, environmental protection, health, social assistance, religion, civic activism, human rights, humanitarian and / or philanthropic aid, community development, social development;

    c) the host organization is a non-profit legal person governed by public or private law and organizing and managing volunteer activities;

    d) the voluntary contract is the agreement concluded between a volunteer and the host organization under which the first party undertakes to perform a public interest activity without being remunerated and the latter undertakes to provide an activity appropriate to the request or training volunteer;

    e) The volunteer is any natural person, regardless of race, ethnic origin, religion, sex, opinion, political affiliation, who has acquired work capacity according to labour law and carries out volunteer activities;

    f) The beneficiary of the voluntary activity is the natural person, other than the spouse and children, or the legal person for whom the voluntary activity is carried out;

    g) The volunteer coordinator is the volunteer or employee of the host organization, who is in charge of coordinating and managing the work of volunteers.

    ART. 4

    This law is based on the following principles:

    a) Participation as a volunteer, public interest activity, unpaid and based on a volunteer's free choice;

    b) The active involvement of the volunteer in community life;

    c) Conducting volunteering with the exclusion of remuneration from the beneficiary of the activity;

    d) The participation of people in volunteer activities, on the basis of equal opportunities and treatment, without discrimination;

    e) Volunteering does not replace paid work;

    f) The character of public interest in volunteering.

    ART. 5

    The isolated volunteer activities, sporadically provided, apart from the relations with the legal entities stipulated in art. 1 for family reasons, friendship or good neighborly relations are not subject to this law.

    ART. 6

    Public administration authorities support volunteering by including separate chapters on the role of volunteering as a resource for the development of social welfare in local or national development strategies, and not as a way to reduce spending, and how to support volunteering to meet local or national priorities.

    ART. 7

    (1) Local government authorities support volunteering as a known method by which citizens can actively participate in voluntary activities in their communities, a method that allows them to address issues related to humanitarian actions, the environment, social issues, and the like.

    (2) The local public administration authorities meet annually with the legal representatives of the host organization, within the administrative-territorial units they manage, in order to organize effective cooperation in the activities of public interest carried out by the volunteers, as well as to promote at local level these activities, outcomes and social impacts.

    (3) The local public administration authorities promote and support the organization of events on the occasion of the International Volunteer Day, on December 5 of each year.

    ART. 8

    (1) Voluntary activities organized outside Romania by host organizations of Romanian nationality, in partnership with organizations from the respective country, carried out under a volunteer agreement signed in Romania, are subject to the provisions of this law.

    (2) Volunteer foreign citizens are guaranteed residence on the territory of the Romanian state during the duration of the voluntary contract, within the limits and conditions imposed by the legislation on the regime of foreign citizens in Romania.

    ART. 9

    (1) Volunteer activity is carried out following a request by the host organization by which it demonstrates its willingness to collaborate with volunteers. The Host Organization has the option to a motivated refuse of a candidate's request to become volunteer, under the conditions stipulated in its statute, depending on the type of activity carried out, and in compliance with art. 4 letter c).

    (2) The request issued by the host organization, a legal person under public law, through which the willingness to collaborate with volunteers is manifested, is made through a public notice.

    (3) The host organization provides initial training on:

    a) Structure, mission and activities of the host organization;

    b) Rights and responsibilities of the volunteer;

    c) Internal regulations governing volunteer involvement.

    (4) The host organization may offer volunteers, under the conditions of the education and training legislation, training courses, training and professional training in the field in which they operate.

    ART. 10

    (1) It is forbidden, under the sanction of cancellation, to conclude a voluntary contract in order to avoid the conclusion of an individual employment contract or, as the case may be, of a civil service contract or of another civil contract for the payment of those benefits.

    (2) Volunteer activity is considered as professional experience and / or specialty, depending on the type of activity, if it is done in the field of completed studies.

    (3) During the period of voluntary activity and at the end of volunteering, the host organization, at the request of the volunteer, issues a volunteer certificate accompanied by an activity report. These are drawn up in Romanian if they were issued on Romanian territory.

    (4) The Volunteer Certificate will contain the following:

    a) The identification data of the host organization issuing the certificate;

    b) The registration number and date of issue of the certificate;

    c) The registration number and the date of the voluntary contract;

    d) Surname, forenames and identification data of the volunteer;

    e) Period and number of volunteer hours;

    f) The name and surname of the volunteer coordinator;

    g) The name and surname of the legal representative of the host organization;

    h) The statement "The volunteer and the issuing organization are responsible for the truthfulness of the data and information contained in this certificate".

    (5) Volunteer certificates or equivalent documents issued by host organizations in another state are recognized in Romania insofar as they contain the elements set out in paragraph (4) and are presented in authenticated copy and legalized translation.

    (6) The Activity report will contain the following:

    a) Carried out volunteering activities;

    b) The assumed attributions;

    c) Acquired skills.

    ART. 11

    (1) Volunteering is based on a written contract, in Romanian, between the volunteer and the host organization. The obligation to conclude the voluntary contract in written form rests with the host organization. The written form is obligatory for the valid conclusion of the contract.

    (2) In the case of the conclusion of a voluntary contract with a foreign national, the host organization may provide an interpreter.

    (3) The Host Organization is required to give the volunteer a copy of the volunteer contract before commencing voluntary work.

    (4) Before the start of the activity, the voluntary contract is recorded in the volunteer register held by the host organization.

    (5) The Voluntary Contract is accompanied by the Volunteer's Voluntary Sheet and Volunteer Protection Sheet.

    (6) The Volunteer Contract must contain the following clauses:

    a) Identification data of the Contracting Parties;

    b) A description of the activities to be provided by the volunteer;

    c) The time and period of the volunteer activity;

    d) The rights and obligations of the parties;

    e) Establishing professional requirements, social skills, development interests, health, confirmed by health certificates or other documents;

    f) The conditions for terminating the contract.

    (7) The Voluntary Contract shall be terminated under the following conditions:

    a) On the expiry of the period stipulated in the contract, namely on the date when the benefits subject to the contract were executed;

    b) By mutual agreement

    c) When the host organization ceases its activity;

    d) By unilateral denunciation, under Art. 21;

    e) In case of termination of the contract.

    (8) The Volunteer Record contains a detailed description of the types of activities that the host organization and the volunteer agreed to carry out during the voluntary contract.

    (9) The Volunteer's Safety Data Sheet contains instructions on how to carry out his / her work, in compliance with the legal provisions in the field of occupational safety and health. For activities surpassing of the scope of the Volunteer Protection Shelf, the organizers of the activity will call on the territorial labour inspectorates to provide them with work safety instructions specific to the respective activity.

    (10) The host organization is required to keep records of the volunteers, the duration and type of activities carried out and the evaluation of volunteers, based on the criteria set out in the internal regulations.

    ART. 12

    The Volunteer Contract must contain at least the following rights of the volunteer:

    a) The right to engage in volunteering in accordance with his/her capacity and availability;

    b) The right to request the host organization to issue the voluntary certificate accompanied by the activity report;

    c) The right to confidentiality and the protection of personal data;

    d) right to free time corresponding to the volunteering activity.

    ART. 13

    (1) The Volunteer Contract must contain the following obligations of the volunteer:

    a) The obligation to perform a public interest activity without remuneration;

    b) the obligation of complementary conduct with the general objectives of volunteering - improving quality of life and reducing poverty, sustainable development, health, disaster prevention and management, social inclusion and, at the same time, the fight against social exclusion and discrimination;

    c) The volunteer's obligations to perform the tasks set out in the Volunteer Record, as well as the observance of the instructions stipulated in the Volunteer Protection Sheet;

    d) the obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the information to which he / she has access during the volunteer activity during the term of the voluntary contract and for a period of 2 years after the termination of the contract;

    e) The obligation to announce the temporary unavailability of the voluntary activity in which he / she is involved.

    (2) The volunteer's liability in such situations shall be undertaken in accordance with the rules laid down in the legislation in force and in the internal regulations of the host organization.

    ART. 14

    The Volunteer Contract must contain the following rights of the host organization:

    a) The right to determine the organization and functioning of the volunteer activity;

    b) The right to initiate the content of the Volunteer Record, which shall be adapted to the volunteer's request and training as well as the type of volunteer activities carried out by the host organization;

    c) The right to exercise control over the implementation of the Volunteer Record through the Volunteer Coordinator;

    d) The right to identify the volunteer's misconduct against the terms of the volunteer contract, the voluntary record and / or the volunteer's record sheet.

    ART. 15

    (1) The Volunteer Contract must contain the following obligations of the host organization:

    a) The right to identify the volunteer's misconduct against the terms of the volunteer contract, the voluntary record and / or the volunteer's record sheet.;

    b) The obligation to bear the cost of food, accommodation and transport for volunteers in the conduct of their voluntary activity;

    c) The obligation to bear other expenses occasioned by the volunteer activity, except those related to the work performed by the volunteer.

    (2) At the request of the volunteer, the host organization may conclude an insurance contract against the risks of accident and sickness or other risks arising from the nature of the activity, depending on the complexity of the activity in which it participates.

    ART. 16

    In the execution of the voluntary contract, the volunteer is subordinated to the volunteer coordinator, appointed under the conditions of art. 3 lit. g). In the event that third parties are harmed by volunteer activities, the host organization will be held jointly responsible with the volunteer under the terms of the law or of the Voluntary Contract if they were not due to the sole fault of the volunteer.

    ART. 17

    The performance of the contractual obligations of the volunteer can not be done through representation.

    ART. 18

    Liability for non-performance or inappropriate performance of the Voluntary Contract is subject to the provisions of Law no. 287/2009 on the Civil Code, republished, as subsequently amended.

    ART. 19

    If, during the performance of the voluntary contract, a situation is likely to make it more difficult for the volunteer to fulfil his obligations, independently of the will of the parties, the contract will be renegotiated, and if the situation renders impossible the performance of the contract, it ceases to be valid.

    ART. 20

    (1) Negotiation or renegotiation of the Voluntary Contract will be made at the written request of one of the parties, under the conditions set out in the Voluntary Contract.

    (2) When negotiating clauses and when signing voluntary contracts, the parties are equal and free.

    ART. 21

    The unilateral termination of the volunteer contract takes place on the initiative of either party, which shall be communicated and motivated in writing. The terms of the termination are set by the voluntary contract, the notice period being 15 days.

    ART. 22

    (1) Disputes arising from the conclusion, modification, execution or termination of a voluntary contract are settled amicably or through mediation and, in the case of non-solving, by civil courts.

    (2) The actions stemming from the voluntary contract are exempt from stamp tax payment.

    ART. 23

    In competitions organized for the occupation of positions, if two or more candidates get equal scores, public authorities and institutions and employers of natural or legal persons may award additional mark to candidates who present one or more voluntary certificates from volunteering, issued under the conditions provided by the present law, provided they constitute selection criteria.

    ART. 24

    The provisions of the present law do not apply to the personnel of the voluntary emergency services constituted according to the law, as well as to persons to whom the statutory provisions on the provision of military service on a voluntary basis are applicable.

    ART. 25

    This law shall enter into force 30 days after its publication in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I.

    ART. 26

    On the date of entry into force of this law, the Volunteer Law no. 195/2001, republished in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 276 of April 25, 2007, is abrogated.

    This law was adopted by the Romanian Parliament, in compliance with the provisions of article 75 and art. 76 paragraph (2) of the Constitution of Romania, republished.

 

PRESIDENT OF THE REPRESENTATIVES CHAMBER

VALERIU-ŞTEFAN ZGONEA

SENATE'S PRESIDENT

CĂLIN-CONSTANTIN-ANTON POPESCU-TĂRICEANU

   Bucharest, 24 June 2014

    No 78

 

UE RO GOV BG GOV INTERREG