Employment Contracts: Types, Conditions and Legal Requirements

Employment Contract

An employment contract is an agreement between an employer and an employee whereby the latter undertakes to provide certain services on behalf of the employer and under the employer's direction in exchange for an agreed remuneration.

Essential Elements of a Contract

• Consent between employer and employee: Acceptance of the contract; consent must be free from mistakes or deception.
• Purpose: The provision of work and payment of salary. The purpose must be possible (i.e., not prevented by termination of the contract), lawful, and sufficiently determined or determinable (the content should be clear).
• Cause: The lawful exchange of work for pay.

Hiring and Working Conditions

Worker

• Age: A person aged 18 or over may be employed freely. Persons aged 16 and 17 require parental consent. Children under 16 may not be recruited.
• Qualifications: Certain professions require possession of the legally required qualifications.
• Disability: A court of law may rule on incapacity; in such cases employment may be restricted or require representation.
• Nationality: Non-EU nationals may require a work permit; EU citizens generally have the right to free movement and employment within the EU subject to applicable rules.

Employer

• Age: Employers may hire workers aged 18 and over without restriction. Workers aged 16 or 17 may be employed with parental consent. Emancipated minors may be treated as adults if emancipation has been granted by a court. Unemancipated minors' contracts are usually submitted by their parent or guardian.
• Disability: If a worker is legally incapacitated, the disabled person will be assisted by their legal representative when entering into the contract.

Types of Contract

Permanent Contract (Indefinite)

Permanent contract: A contract with no predetermined termination date.

Fixed-term Contract

Fixed-term contract: A contract with a termination date, established for a specific purpose, performance, or function.

Contract Staff

Contract staff: These contracts include a specified termination date and are used for defined tasks or functions.

Temporary Contracts

Training Contracts (Contract for Training)

Training contracts are intended for acquisition of theoretical and practical training.

• Requirements: The worker has not reached 21 years of age, does not possess the qualifications required for the position, has not previously held the post for more than 12 months, and has not exhausted the maximum duration for apprenticeships.
• Maximum number of workers: Dependent on the provisions of the applicable collective agreement.
• Duration: Between 6 months and 2 years.
• Working hours: As established; typically full time.
• Compensation: As set in the collective agreement; provided that, in the first year, pay may be lower than the minimum wage in proportion to the actual work performed.
• Social security: Social security contributions are fixed and set annually by the government.

Contracts for Professional Practice

Contracts: Intended to obtain appropriate professional practice.

• Requirements: Possession of a suitable qualification and no more than five years since completion of the relevant studies (seven years for disabled persons).
• Duration: May not be less than 6 months nor exceed 2 years.
• Working hours: May be full time or part time.
• Compensation: Fixed in the applicable agreement.
• Probation: The training contract probationary period shall not exceed 2 months. In practice, probation is one month for intermediate graduates and two months for higher-grade graduates.

Temporary Grounds

Replacement Contract

• Working time reduction: A reduction in working time between 25% and 75%, or up to 85% in cases in which the reliever is employed full time under an indefinite contract.
• Duration: The replacement lasts until the worker being substituted reaches full retirement, with a maximum duration of 4 years.