The parties to an individual subordinate employment contract may agree to set a fixed term for the contract, not exceeding 12 months. A fixed term exceeding 12 months is only allowed in the following circumstances:
- Where explicitly provided for by the national, territorial, or company-level collective labour agreement signed by the most representative trade unions at the national level, or by their company-level union representatives or the unitary workplace union representative body,
- In the absence of a specific provision in the collective labour agreement, where there is a requirement of a technical, organisational, or productive nature identified by the parties. As mentioned above, this solution is temporary and may be applied only until 31 December 2025,
- For the replacement of other employees.
Initially, the option mentioned in point 2) above was only available until 30 April 2024.
This deadline was subsequently extended to 31 December 2024 to allow collective bargaining to introduce its own regulation on the matter.
To compensate for the (ongoing) lack of specific provisions in this area within collective bargaining agreements, the duration of the transitional regime has been further extended for the period from 28 December 2024 to 31 December 2025.
Therefore, under the current legislation, an employer may enter into a fixed-term, subordinate employment contract exceeding 12 months in the following cases:
- For the replacement of other employees,
- In cases specifically regulated by the applicable collective labour agreement,
- In the absence of specific provisions in the applicable collective labour agreement, until 31 December 2025, for proven and specific requirements of a i) technical, ii) organisational, or iii) productive nature.
We remain available for any further clarification.