In the conclusion of a fixed-term contract between a company and a worker, there must be a specific and concrete cause for temporary employment
There are different types of temporary contracts, which have been used in our legal system for several decades, although in recent years temporary contracts have increased significantly, becoming a chronic situation that, on many occasions, does not respect the basic legally established principles.
Article 15 of the Workers' Statute regulates the different types of fixed-term contracts and provides in section 3 of the aforementioned legal provision that "Temporary contracts entered into in fraud of law shall be presumed to be for an indefinite period."
Therefore, based on the legal precept transcribed above, for a temporary contract to be considered lawfully entered into, there must be a real and objective cause of temporaryity whose existence can be reliably proven, but in addition, said cause must be clearly and specifically stated in the employment contract, circumstances that do not occur in some of the temporary contracts that are entered into at a general level.
In certain cases, some employers opt for fixed-term contracts in order to disguise a longer probationary period for the worker than that established by the applicable Collective Agreement, a fact that is in no way permitted under the legally established circumstances for entering into this type of contract.
Other times, companies may choose to sign a fixed-term contract with a worker because of the reduced cost of terminating the employment relationship, since a contract termination due to the expiration of the agreed time has a much lower compensation than that provided for an unfair dismissal.
Consequences of entering into a temporary contract fraudulently
As stated in the preceding paragraphs, for a fixed-term contract to be entered into in accordance with the provisions established by the Law, there must be a cause of temporary nature that justifies its signing.
However, in the event of a legal claim, if the judge hearing the case considers that the reason for the temporary nature of the employment is not justified, is not sufficiently clear, or is not specifically stated in the employment contract, he will probably declare the temporary employment contract to be fraudulent and it will become indefinite, with the legal consequences that this implies.
A legal system that does not solve the problem
Temporary employment in Spain is significantly higher than in the rest of the European Union, which means that the problem has become entrenched, turning into a pathological situation in employment matters and highlighting the inability of our legal system to tackle a widespread phenomenon of abuse in the use of this type of fixed-term contract.
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A graduate in Law from the University of Barcelona, she also completed a Master's degree specializing in Labor Law and Social Security at the Barcelona Bar Association. She began her professional career as an intern while studying and later joined the Navarro Law Firm as an employment lawyer, advising companies nationwide on labor law matters and representing them before the Labor Courts, the Labor Inspectorate, in conciliation proceedings, etc. In February 2017, she joined Àmbit Jurídic i Econòmic as a professional partner after extensive experience as an employment lawyer.
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