The basic principles of the regulation of labor relations and other relations directly related to them, principles arising from the norms of international law and those of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, are the following:

a) freedom of employment, including the right to work freely chosen or accepted, the right to dispose of one's work capacity, the right to choose one's profession and occupation;

b) prohibition of forced (compulsory) labor and discrimination in the field of labor relations;

c) protection against unemployment and assistance in employment;

d) ensuring the right of every employee to fair working conditions, including working conditions that meet the requirements of occupational safety and health, and the right to rest, including the regulation of working time, the granting of annual rest leave, rest breaks daily, holidays and non-working holidays;

e) equality in rights and opportunities of employees;

f) guaranteeing the right of each employee to pay in full and equitable time the salary that would ensure a decent existence for the employee and his family;

f.1) equal pay for equal work or work of equal value;

g) ensuring the equality of employees, without any discrimination, for advancement in the service, taking into account the labor productivity, qualification and seniority in work in the specialty, as well as for professional training, retraining and improvement;

h) ensuring the right of employees and employers to association to defend their rights and interests, including the right of employees to join unions and to be union members and the right of employers to associate in employers and to be members of employers ;

i) ensuring the right of employees to participate in the administration of the unit in the forms provided by law;

j) the combination of state regulation and contractual regulation of labor relations and other relations directly related to them;

k) the obligation of the full reparation by the employer of the material and moral damage caused to the employee in connection with the fulfillment of the work obligations;

l) establishing state guarantees for ensuring the rights of employees and employers, as well as exercising control over their observance;

m) ensuring the right of every employee to defend his or her labor rights and freedoms, including by notifying the supervisory and control bodies, of the labor jurisdiction bodies;

n) ensuring the right to resolve individual labor disputes and collective labor disputes, as well as the right to strike, in the manner established by this code and other normative acts;

o) the obligation of the parties to collective and individual employment contracts to respect the contractual clauses, including the employer's right to demand from the employee the fulfillment of work obligations and the manifestation of a household attitude towards the employer's goods and, respectively, the employee's right to demand employer fulfilling the obligations towards the employees, observing the labor legislation and other acts containing norms of the labor law;

p) ensuring the right of trade unions to exercise public control over compliance with labor legislation;

r) ensuring the right of employees to the defense of honor, dignity and professional reputation during the work activity;

s) guaranteeing the right to compulsory social and medical insurance of employees.

(1) Freedom of labor is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova.

(2) Any person is free to choose his job, profession, trade or activity.

(3) No one, throughout his life, may be obliged to work or not to work in a certain job or in a certain profession, whatever they may be.

(4) Any legal act concluded in breach of the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) shall be null and void.

(1) Forced (compulsory) labor is prohibited.

(2) Forced labor (compulsory) means any work or service imposed on a person under threat or without his consent.

(3) The use in any form of forced (compulsory) labor is prohibited, namely:

a) as a means of political or educational influence or as a punishment for supporting or expressing political opinions or beliefs contrary to the existing political, social or economic system;

b) as a method of mobilization and use of labor for economic purposes;

c) as a means of maintaining work discipline;

d) as a means of punishment for participating in the strike;

e) as a means of discrimination on the grounds of social, national, religious or racial affiliation.

(4) Forced labor (compulsory) includes:

a) violation of the established deadlines for payment of the salary or its partial payment;

b) the requirement of the employer towards the employee to fulfill his work obligations in the absence of collective or individual protection systems or in case the accomplishment of the required work may endanger the life or health of the employee.

(5) The following are not considered forced labor (compulsory):

a) military service or the activities carried out in its place by those who, according to the law, do not fulfill the compulsory military service;

b) the work of a convicted person performed under normal conditions during the period of pre-trial detention or parole;

c) the benefits imposed in the situation created by calamities or other danger, as well as those that are part of the normal civil obligations established by law.

(1) Undeclared work is prohibited.

(2) Undeclared work means any work performed by a natural person for and under the authority of an employer without complying with the provisions of this code regarding the conclusion of the individual employment contract.

(1) The principle of equal rights of all employees acts within the labor relations. Any discrimination, direct or indirect, of the employee on the grounds of sex, age, race, skin color, ethnicity, religion, political choice, social origin, domicile, disability, HIV / AIDS, membership or trade union activity, as well as other criteria unrelated to his professional qualities, is prohibited.

(2) The establishment of differentiations, exceptions, preferences or rights of employees, which are determined by the specific requirements of a job, established by the legislation in force, or by the special care of the state towards persons in need of increased social and legal protection, does not constitute discrimination. .

(1) An employee has the right:

a) to conclude, amend, suspend and terminate the individual employment contract in the manner laid down in this Code;

b) to work, in accordance with the terms of the individual employment contract;

c) to a job, under the conditions laid down in the state standards on organisation, safety and health at work, in the collective labour contract and in collective agreements;

d) timely and full payment of wages in accordance with his or her qualifications and the complexity, quantity and quality of the work performed;

d.1) to obtain, on request, information on rates of pay, broken down by sex, for categories of employees performing equal work or work of equal value;

e) to rest, ensured by the establishment of normal working hours, by the reduction of working hours for certain professions and categories of employees, by the granting of rest days and holidays, paid annual leave;

f) full and truthful information, prior to employment or transfer to another post, on the conditions of employment, in particular on the conditions of remuneration for work, including the salary of the post or tariff, supplements, bonuses and material allowances (where these form part of the establishment's pay system), the frequency of payments and the criteria used to determine pay levels;

f.1) to information and consultation on the economic situation of the establishment, occupational safety and health and other matters concerning the operation of the establishment, in accordance with the provisions of this Code;

g) to address the employer, employers, trade unions, central and local public administration bodies, labour jurisdiction bodies; 

h) training, retraining and further training in accordance with this Code and other regulations;

i) to freedom of association in trade unions, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his or her labour rights, freedoms and legitimate interests;

j) to participate in the management of the establishment in accordance with this Code and the collective labour agreement;

k) to conduct collective negotiations and conclude collective agreements and collective agreements, through its representatives, to be informed about the execution of those agreements and agreements;

l) to defend, by means not prohibited by law, his employment rights, freedoms and legitimate interests;

m) to the settlement of individual labour disputes and collective labour disputes, including the right to strike, in the manner laid down in this Code and other normative acts;

n) compensation for material and non-material damage caused in connection with the performance of work obligations, in the manner laid down in this Code and other normative acts;

o) to compulsory social and medical insurance, as provided for by the legislation in force.  

(1.1) Employees may not waive their rights under this Code. Any agreement aimed at waiving or limiting the employee's labour rights shall be null and void.

(2) The employee shall be bound:

a) to conscientiously fulfil his or her employment obligations under the individual employment contract;

b) to comply with the established work rules;

c) to comply with the requirements of the internal regulations of the establishment and to carry the nominal permit for access to the workplace granted by the employer at all times;

d) respect work discipline;

d.1) behave in a non-discriminatory manner towards other employees and the employer;

d.2) respect the right to dignity at work of other employees;

e) comply with occupational safety and health requirements;

f) show good housekeeping towards the employer's and other employees' property;

g) immediately inform the employer or immediate supervisor of any situation that poses a danger to the life and health of people or to the integrity of the employer's property;

g.1) immediately inform the employer or immediate supervisor of the impossibility of reporting for work and present, within 5 working days after resuming work, the documents justifying the absence;

h) pay compulsory state social security contributions and compulsory health insurance premiums in the prescribed manner;

i) fulfil other obligations laid down by the legislation in force, the collective labour contract and collective agreements.

(1) The employer has the right:

a) conclude, amend, suspend and terminate individual employment contracts with employees in the manner and under the conditions laid down in this Code and other regulations;

b) require employees to fulfil their work obligations and to show good housekeeping towards the employer's property;

c) to encourage employees to work efficiently and conscientiously;

c.1) provide employees with childcare services for children up to the age of 3;

d) to hold employees liable for disciplinary and material matters in the manner laid down in this Code and other regulations;

e) issue regulations at unit level;

f) to create and join employers' associations for the representation and defence of its interests.

(2) The employer is obliged:

a) comply with laws and other regulations, the terms of the collective labour contract and collective agreements;

b) comply with the terms of individual employment contracts;

b.1) to approve and/or amend the establishment's personnel lists under the conditions laid down in this Code;

c) (repealed)

d) provide employees with the work provided for in the individual employment contract;

e) provide employees with working conditions appropriate to the requirements of occupational safety and health;

f) provide employees with the necessary equipment, tools, technical documentation and other means to perform their work duties;

f.1) ensure equal opportunities and treatment for all persons in employment according to their profession, in vocational guidance and training, and in promotion in the service, without discrimination of any kind;

f.2) apply the same criteria for assessing the quality of work, for sanctions and for dismissal;

f.3) to take measures to prevent sexual harassment at work, as well as measures to prevent harassment for lodging complaints of discrimination with the competent body;

f.4) ensure equal conditions for women and men to combine work and family obligations;

f.5) introduce provisions in the internal rules of the unit prohibiting discrimination on any grounds and sexual harassment;

f.6) ensure respect for the dignity of employees at work;

g) ensure equal pay for equal work or work of equal value;

h) to pay wages in full within the time limits laid down in this Code, the collective labour agreement and individual employment contracts;

i) to conduct collective negotiations and conclude the collective labour contract, providing the employees' representatives with the complete and truthful information necessary for this purpose, as well as the information necessary to control the execution of the contract;

j) inform and consult employees on the economic situation of the establishment, occupational safety and health and other matters relating to the operation of the establishment in accordance with the provisions of this Code;

k) to fulfil in time the prescriptions of the state supervisory and control bodies, to pay the fines imposed for the violation of legislative and other normative acts containing the rules of labour law;

l) to examine the complaints of employees and their representatives on violations of legislative acts and other normative acts containing labour law norms, to take measures for their removal, informing the mentioned persons about it within the terms established by law;

m) to create conditions for the participation of employees in the management of the establishment in the manner established by this Code and other normative acts;

n) provide employees with the social and health conditions necessary for the fulfilment of their work obligations;

o) to carry out compulsory social and medical insurance of employees in the manner prescribed by the legislation in force;

p) compensate material and moral damage caused to employees in connection with the fulfilment of their work obligations, in the manner laid down in this Code and other normative acts;

r) to fulfil other obligations laid down in this Code, other legislation, collective agreements, collective and individual employment contracts.

(1) The minimum level of labor rights and guarantees for employees is established by this code and by other normative acts containing norms of labor law.

(2) Individual employment contracts, collective labor agreements and collective agreements may establish for employees rights and labor guarantees additional to those provided by this code and other normative acts.

The clauses in the individual labor contracts, in the collective labor contracts and in the collective agreements or in the legal acts issued by the public administration authorities mentioned in art. 4 letters d) and e), which worsen the situation of the employees in comparison with the labor legislation they do not produce legal effects.

If treaties, conventions, agreements or other international acts to which the Republic of Moldova is a party establish other provisions than those contained in this code, international regulations shall have priority.

(1) The expiration of the terms to which this code links the appearance or termination of employment shall begin on the day immediately following the day on which the appearance or termination of employment rights and obligations was determined.

(2) The terms calculated in years, months or weeks shall expire on the respective date of the last year, the last month or week. Non-working days are also included in the term calculated in weeks or calendar days.

(3) If the term calculated in months expires in the month that has a number of days greater or less than that of the month in which the term began to run, then the day of expiration of the term is considered the last day of the month in which the term expires.

(4) If the last day of the term is a non-working day, then the day of expiry of the term shall be considered the first working day immediately following.