Temporary contract and its extension

More and more employment contracts are limited in time. For some employers, a fixed-term contract is the optimal design option for filling jobs. A temporary contract ends automatically when the time limit expires. Automatic renewal is becoming more and more the rule. How often an extension is allowed is determined by the law, but the reality of life is different.

Temporary contracts should have a factual reason

• The basis for every fixed-term contract and for every associated extension is the Part-Time and Temporary Employment Act (TzBfG). Section 14 of the law stipulates when and how often an extension is permitted.
• First, differentiate between two types of fixed-term employment contracts: namely the "calendar-wise fixed-term employment contract"and the" fixed-term employment contract ". The former ends when the agreed term of the contract expires, the other ends when its purpose has been fulfilled.
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• A temporary contract is characterized by the fact that it is justified by an objective reason. The law lists eight factual reasons that come primarily into consideration. Cases of this kind are a temporary company need, the representation of another employee or the time limit for testing the employee.

It is often easy to justify an extension

• The problem in practice is that it is difficult to assess factual reasons as such. There are always factual reasons so that an extension can always be justified.


Extension of the employment contract - you should pay attention to this

When it comes to extending an employment contract, some ...

• The European Court of Justice has ruled that an employee who has signed a fixed-term contract with the same employer 13 times within eleven years had received, cannot defend himself against the extension of the fixed-term contract and has no right to be discontinued for an indefinite period (ECJ, ruling v. 26.1.12).

Other principles apply if there are no objective reasons

• If there is no objective reason from the outset, the temporary contract can generally be limited to a period of up to two years. During this time, a temporary contract can be extended three times.
• Business start-ups are allowed to conclude fixed-term employment contracts for up to four years after the start-up. Multiple extensions are possible over and over again during this total period.
• If you are older than 52 and were immediately unemployed for at least four months, the temporary contract can be established for up to five years for no objective reasons. Multiple extensions are also allowed during this period.
• Please note that the number of extensions or the maximum duration of the fixed-term contract can be regulated for a specific industry by means of a collective agreement.
• There are also deviations from the law on fixed-term employment contracts in science and the law on fixed-term employment contracts with doctors in continuing education.
• If you are of the opinion that your temporary contract is ineffective, you can do so within three weeks of the expiry of the temporary contract Call the labor court and apply for a declaration that the employment relationship will not end due to the time limit be.