Employment law
Grounds for using a fixed-term contract
A fixed-term contract is not a contract you choose, it is a contract you justify. The Labour Code sets the opposite general rule: any contract that does not fall within a specific category is an open-ended contract. The indefinite contract is the principle; the fixed-term contract is the exception, and it is never presumed.
In practice, this means an employer cannot conclude a fixed-term contract simply because a short engagement is preferable. The hire must be attached to a specific, temporary situation provided for by law, and that ground must be written into the contract. Labour Code, Articles L.19 and L.20 (French).
1. Which situations allow a fixed-term contract?
The Code lists the permitted grounds. Each corresponds to a different reality, and therefore to different drafting:
| Ground | What characterises it | What the contract must show |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary replacement | An identified employee is under legal suspension of their contract | The name and qualification of the replaced person |
| Temporary increase in activity | An exceptional, datable rise in workload | The reality and the passing nature of the increase |
| Seasonal work | An activity that returns with seasons or campaigns | The link to the season concerned |
| Very short engagement | Hourly or daily work not exceeding one day | The one-off nature of the task |
| Customary sectors | Jobs where using an indefinite contract is not customary | The established practice in the sector, under the conditions set by law |
To these is added the contract concluded for the completion of defined works, whose term is the completion itself. Labour Code, Article L.20 (French).
2. Where is the boundary with the open-ended contract?
It is simple to state and easy to cross without noticing: a fixed-term contract may neither have the purpose nor the effect of permanently filling a job linked to the normal, ongoing activity of the company.
Note the words "nor the effect". The employer's intention is not enough to save the contract. A fixed-term contract concluded in good faith for a genuinely temporary need becomes irregular if, in fact, it ends up occupying a permanent position. This is how most disputed situations arise: the need was real at the outset, but it settled in without the contract ever being revisited. Labour Code, Article L.22 (French).
3. Are there situations where it is prohibited outright?
Yes, and the most important one is often overlooked because it concerns not the candidate but the position.
Following a redundancy on economic grounds, the company may not use a fixed-term contract on the eliminated positions for six months. The only exception is a non-renewable contract of no more than three months.
The logic is clear: a job is not eliminated for economic reasons only to be refilled immediately in a more precarious form. Before any drafting, the question is therefore not only "why this hire?" but "what has happened to this position over the past six months?". Labour Code, Article L.23 (French).
4. Can one contract cover several replacements?
No. A replacement contract corresponds to one replaced person, and only one.
This rule follows directly from the obligation to define the ground precisely: the contract must state the name and professional qualification of the replaced employee. A single contract concluded to cover the absences of several employees, whether at the same time or one after another, cannot satisfy that requirement, since it identifies no one in particular.
In practice, this means drawing up as many contracts as there are replaced employees, even where the replacement is the same person and the absences follow on from each other. A contract that does not precisely define its ground loses its term and becomes an open-ended contract. Decree No. 2022-0125/PT-RM, revised Article D.20-1 (French).
5. What is the risk if the ground is not valid?
The contract does not become void: it changes nature. It is deemed concluded for an indefinite duration, with everything that entails.
| What the employer thought it had | What it actually has |
|---|---|
| A contract that ends by itself on a known date | A contract that ends only through dismissal |
| An end of relationship with no procedure | A termination subject to grounds, procedure and notice |
| An exit cost limited to the 2.5% payment | The compensation and damages attached to ending an open-ended contract |
It is this shift, more than any fine, that constitutes the real cost of a poorly justified hire. And it applies equally where the relationship continues beyond the legal limits on duration or renewals: the conversion is then automatic, by operation of law. Labour Code, Articles L.20 and L.21 (French).
6. How to check a ground before signing?
Four questions, in this order:
- Is the need temporary? If you cannot say when it will end, it is probably a permanent need.
- Does it fall within one of the permitted grounds? A temporary need matching no listed ground is not enough.
- Is the position free of any prohibition? In particular the six months following a redundancy.
- Can the ground actually be written down? If it cannot be stated in one precise, verifiable sentence, it will not hold.
Key takeaways
The use of a fixed-term contract is judged on its ground, not its length. A short contract with a weak ground is irregular; a long contract with a proper ground is not.
| The rule | What it implies |
|---|---|
| The indefinite contract is the principle, the fixed term the exception | The ground must be justified, never assumed |
| The ground must be precise and written | A generic ground offers the employer no protection |
| Neither the purpose nor the effect of filling a permanent job | A need that has become lasting calls for an indefinite contract, not a renewal |
| One replacement, one contract | As many contracts as there are replaced employees |
| Six-month prohibition after a redundancy | The check concerns the position, not the candidate |