An employment contract is by default valid indefinitely, unless there is a justified reason to define it as a fixed-term contract. A fixed-term employment contract must be based on a valid reason, or it may be a first fixed-term employment contract concluded without a reason. By comparison, no particular reason need be given for an employment contract signed for a fixed term on the employee's request.

The employer must consider the impact of several back-to-back fixed-term contracts on the determination of employee benefits. As far as the determination of employee benefits is concerned, an employment relationship is considered to have been continuous if the employer and employee have signed fixed-term employment contracts such that:

• there have been several back-to-back contracts
• the employment has continued uninterrupted, or
• the employment has continued with only brief interruptions.

Consecutive fixed-term employment contracts at the employer’s initiative are not allowed when the number of contracts, their combined duration and the total employment thereby created clearly demonstrate that the employer's labour need is a permanent one. However, the Employment Contracts Act does not specify a maximum period of time or the number of employment contracts that would automatically determine whether consecutive fixed-term employment contracts have been concluded unlawfully. The assessment must be carried out separately in each case.

What is a justified reason for a fixed-term employment contract?

The reason for a fixed-term employment contract at the employer's initiative may be, for example:

• a substitution
• a project
• a one-off task
• seasonal work
• an internship related to studies at an educational institution
• the fixed term of an apprenticeship, or
• some other characteristic of the employer’s operations or the work to be done that motivates its fixed-term nature.

Situations in which there is no need for a reason for a fixed term contract

First fixed-term employment contract

From 1 June 2026, the employer may enter into the first fixed-term employment contract with the employee without a justified reason as referred to in the Employment Contracts Act. The contract may be concluded for a period of up to one year.

The opportunity concerns the first employment relationship between the employer and the employee. The employer may also conclude a fixed-term employment contract without a reason if at least five years have passed from the termination of the employee's previous employment with the same employer. In that case, a fixed-term employment contract may be concluded even if the employer's need for labour was permanent. The fixed-term nature of the employment contract does not need to be justified with substitution, seasonal work or other reason, for example.

If a fixed-term employment contract is concluded in violation of the law, it is considered an employment contract of indefinite duration.

A fixed-term employment contract concluded without a justified reason can be terminated by the employer and the employee after the employment relationship has lasted at least six months. This also applies in situations where the employment contract does not specifically provide for the possibility of termination.

The employer must provide the employee, before the expiry of a fixed-term employment contract concluded without a justified reason, with a justified account of whether it is possible to continue the employment relationship. The employment relationship may continue indefinitely or with a new fixed-term employment contract concluded for a justified reason. At the employee’s request, the response must be given in writing within one month of the request.

The reporting obligation applies only to fixed-term employment contracts that have been concluded without a justified reason on the basis of the Employment Contracts Act that entered into force on 1 June 2026.

Employment contract for long-term unemployed persons

The employer may hire a long-term unemployed person on a fixed-term contract without a justified reason for a period of up to one year. The employer and the employee may also agree on multiple employment contracts of less than one year. The contract can be renewed no more than twice within a period of one year from the start of the first fixed-term contract. The combined duration of the contracts must not exceed one year.

A jobseeker who has been unemployed for at least one year is considered a long-term unemployed person. The unemployed person may have had one employment relationship of at most two weeks during that time.

A dialogue on improving the status of part-time and fixed-term employees must be conducted at the workplace

The employer must announce any vacancies generally in the company or in accordance with the practice adopted in the workplace to ensure that part-time and fixed-term employees also have the same chances to apply for these jobs as permanent and full-time employees. The user company must also announce any vacant jobs to agency workers in the same manner.

At the request of a part-time or a fixed-term employee, the employer must give a reasoned response on whether the regular working hours set out in the employment contract or the duration of the employment contract can be extended. The response must be given in writing within one month of the request. There are no format requirements for the response.

However, if the number of the employer’s employees in an employment relationship does not regularly exceed 250, the response can be given within three months of the request and if the request is repeated, the response can be given orally if the grounds for the response have remained unchanged since the previous response.

There is no obligation to give a written response if the employee has worked for the employer for less than six months or less than 12 months have passed since the employee’s previous request. No oral response is required in such situations either.