Legal Requirements for Employment Contracts and Hiring

Eligibility for Employment Contracts

Who Can Be an Employer?

The employer (or entrepreneur) must be a person over 18 years of age and possess full legal capacity to hire a worker.

Who Can Be Hired?

An employee must be a person over 16 years of age who has not been deprived of their ability to act by a court of law.

Restrictions on Minors (Under 18)

In the case of children under 16 years of age, they may be allowed to participate in public performances only with the authorization of parents or guardians and the responsible agency, provided that the activity does not pose a danger to their physical or psychological development.

All children under 18 are subject to strict labor restrictions. They cannot:

• Work at night (defined as when at least three hours of the workday occur between ten at night and six in the morning).
• Work overtime.
• Serve in positions declared dirty, heavy, or harmful that may affect their development, either directly or indirectly.

Employment Contract Requirements

Formation of the Contract

An employment contract exists when there is an agreement between the employee and the employer for which services are provided under the direction and organization of the employer in return for financial rewards (compensation).

Employment contracts may be concluded either in writing or orally.

Contracts That Must Be Written

Certain types of contracts must always be specified in writing and often require the use of an official form. These include:

• Contracts for practical experience.
• Contracts for training.
• Part-time, fixed-continuous, and replacement contracts.
• Work or service contracts, and integration contracts.
• Contracts for workers hired by domestic companies to work abroad.
• Temporary contracts lasting more than four weeks.

Note: If a contract that should be written is not concluded in writing, it shall generally be presumed to be concluded for an indefinite time and full time.

Mandatory Sections of a Written Contract

An employment contract concluded in writing must contain the following essential sections:

1. Details of the company and the worker.
2. Start Date of the employment relationship and its duration (if applicable).
3. Type of Contract concluded.
4. Purpose of the contract (i.e., the professional functions the worker will perform).
5. The conditions of service, including the location (workplace) and the work schedule.
6. The Probationary Period.
7. Duration of the annual Holiday/Vacation period.
8. Compensation (salary and benefits).
9. Reference to the applicable Collective Agreement.

The agreement must be signed by both parties and typically filed with the relevant labor office (e.g., INEM).

Contract Validity and Nullity

A contract may be declared void even if it meets all the requirements listed above, under the following circumstances:

• If it was executed with a lack of consent, or under duress or threats.
• If the contract seeks to achieve a service that is impossible or illegal.