The labour reform has a particular impact on temporary employment.
Under the labour reform, fixed-term contracts based on production requirements may only be used in the following circumstances:
- When there are peaks in workload that do not recur every season, are not structural in nature, and cannot be predicted. For example, a company manufacturing surgical masks might have entered into a contract of this kind to cope with a temporary and unforeseeable surge in demand.
- For short-term needs where the end date is known (for example, to organise a three-week event). The maximum duration is limited to 90 days in a calendar year; these days may not be used consecutively, regardless of the number of workers required to meet the specific needs on each of those days. For example, it will not be possible to hire a worker from 1 January to 31 March under this category as these are consecutive days. Nor will it be possible to hire one worker for January, another for March, another for April and another for October, as this exceeds the 90-day limit. However, it will be possible to hire five workers for January and ten for the second half of August.
- These contracts may also be used where fluctuations occur which, whilst forming part of the company’s normal business operations, result in a temporary mismatch between the number of permanent staff available and the number required (such as increases in activity or mismatches caused by a temporary reduction in the number of staff, as occurs during annual leave). However, they may not be used to replace permanent staff who leave the company. And in the case of temporary increases in the volume of work that recur every season (for example, a shop that sees a rise in sales during the Christmas period), this contract cannot be used; instead, a fixed-term seasonal contract or a part-time permanent contract must be used.
Works, service or fixed-term contracts entered into between 31 December 2021 and 30 March 2022 will be governed by the previous regulations, but their duration may not exceed six months. From 30 March 2022 onwards, new contracts may only be entered into under the new regulations.
