Employment Contracts: Rights, Duties, and Legal Framework

The Employment Contract: Definition and Core Characteristics

The employment contract is an agreement between an employer and an employee, through which the worker agrees to provide services in exchange for remuneration. This fundamental agreement is characterized by:

• Voluntariness: Both parties freely enter into the agreement.
• Alienation: The worker provides services for the benefit of the employer.
• Dependency: The worker is subject to the employer's direction and organization.
• Remuneration: The worker receives payment for their services.

Subjects of the Employment Contract

The primary subjects of an employment contract are the worker and the employer.

Worker Capacity, Rights, and Duties

Workers generally have the capacity to work from 18 years of age. Those between 16 and 18 may work with parental consent, while those under 16 are typically not permitted to work, except in specific cases like public spectacles.

Workers possess several fundamental rights, including:

• Basic human rights
• Specific labor rights
• Rights related to contractual risk prevention

In addition to rights, workers also have duties, particularly concerning the prevention of workplace risks.

Employer Definition and Types

Employers are natural or legal persons, public or private, who receive services from workers.

Types of Employers:

• Sole Trader: A natural person with legal capacity who carries out commercial, industrial, or professional activities in their own name or through representatives.
• Legal Persons or Companies: These are individuals or associations that acquire legal personality through a commercial contract. An endowment fund is often created when the company is established to obtain greater benefit for everyone involved.

Common Company Structures:

• Limited Company
• Anonymous Company
• Collective Company
• Labor Company
• Cooperative
• Goods and Services Company
• Temporary Work Agency

Employer Rights and Duties

Employers hold specific rights and duties within the employment relationship:

Employer Rights:

• Management Power: The authority to direct and organize work.
• Disciplinary Power: The right to impose sanctions for breaches of duty.
• Right to Demand Fulfillment: The right to require the worker's fulfillment of their obligations.
• Duty to Enforce Safety: The duty to enforce safety regulations and occupational health standards.

Employer Duties:

• Duty of Effective Occupation: Providing actual work for the employee.
• Duty to Protect Safety and Occupational Health: Ensuring a safe and healthy work environment.
• Duty of Information: Providing necessary information to employees.
• Duty of Equal Treatment: Treating all employees equally.

Works Excluded from Labor Legislation

Certain types of work are excluded from standard labor legislation, typically because they do not meet some basic characteristics of an employment contract, such as alienation or dependency. These include:

• Government officials
• Mandatory personal benefits
• Counselors or members of management bodies
• Work done out of friendship or goodwill
• Family workers
• Persons involved in commercial operations, transport services, or working on their own (self-employed)

Special Industrial Relations

While generally adhering to the four basic characteristics of an employment contract, some industrial relations have a special character and are subject to specific regulations. These include:

• Personnel and senior management
• Domestic service workers
• Prisoners in institutions
• Professional sportsmen
• Artists
• Salespeople
• Persons with disabilities
• Children placed in care
• Dock workers
• Lawyers for medical residents employed

Understanding the Employment Contract: Form, Duration, and Trial Period

Contract Form

The employment contract can be established in either written or verbal form, with parties generally free to choose. However, certain contracts *must* be in writing for validity or evidentiary purposes. These include:

• Practice contracts
• Education contracts
• Work-integration contracts
• Fixed-term contracts
• Relief contracts
• Home-based work contracts
• Contracts for foreign persons
• Contracts of specific duration

Contract Duration

Employment contracts can vary in duration:

• Permanent (indefinite)
• Fixed-period work (temporary)
• Internship or insertion contracts
• Practical training contracts (e.g., for persons with disabilities)

Trial Period

A trial period is a specific initial phase of employment with a defined purpose and effects, allowing both employer and employee to assess suitability before the contract becomes fully effective.