Restrictive laws on fixed-term contracts with no particular reason. Currently, the law on part-time work and fixed-term contracts (Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz – TzBfG), enforced on January 1, 2001, allows businesses to sign two types of fixed-term contracts: fixed-term contracts with a clear motive (replacement of another employee, temporary activity rise, seasonal job) and fixed-term contracts with no particular reason. There is no statutory maximum to the duration of the first. The duration of the contract depends on the assignment. It can be renewed several times. In the second case however, the law is much more restrictive. Appeal to fixed-term contracts is reserved for new hirings. The company can only sign a fixed-term contract once a year, and for a maximum of two years. During these two years, the contract may be extended three times. This measure was passed to prevent businesses from chaining fixed-term contracts. “In Germany, permanent contracts are the rule, and fixed-term contracts are exceptions” reminded the Minister for Employment and Social Affairs on his website, adding that almost three million employees, out of a total of around 29.6 million, had a fixed-term contract in 2006.
One-year waiting period. However, according to the new government in power, this law slows employment down, because people who had a fixed-term contract in the past, for instance when they were in school, in college, or for dual training, cannot have another fixed-term contract later in the same company.
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