Fixed-Term Employment Contract in General

An employment contract may be concluded for a fixed term if the nature of the job in question so requires. The conclusion of fixed-term employment contracts is restricted in order to prevent their use for attempts to evade the employee’s protection against dismissal. Consequently, an employment contract can only be concluded for a fixed-term if there is a justifiable reason to do so. A justifiable reason exists where e.g. the work is of a specific duration such as substitutes, project based or seasonal. The reason for the fixed-term must be set out in the contract of employment. If the employee has requested for a fixed-term agreement, no justifiable reason is needed from the employer’s part.

In the absence of a justifiable reason in cases where the employer has been initiative for a fixed-term employment contract, the contract is considered to be until further notice as from the date of its creation. Even if the employment relationship would subsequently be extended with a valid fixed-term employment contract, the position of the original contract would remain the same, i.e. it would still be considered to be valid until further notice and will not revert to being a fixed-term contract.

The employer should notice, that the employer is not allowed to use repeated fixed-term employment contracts, when a number of fixed-term employment agreements or a combined duration of the fixed-term employments agreements or these as a whole indicate that the employer’s need for manpower is permanent.

A fixed-term contract expires on a pre-set date, without the need for a notice period and it is not possible to terminate a fixed-term contract by giving notice before the expiry of the contract period. As the duration of the employment relationship has been agreed beforehand there is no need for the employer to provide a ground for termination of the contract. A fixed-term contract can be cancelled to terminate immediately if there is an extremely weighty cause required by law.