Contract of employment
Permanent and fixed-term contracts of employment
As a rule, the contract of employment is concluded for an unlimited period (see sec. 620 para. 2 of the Civil Code). It is, however, possible for the employer and the employee to conclude a contract of a limitted period. In 1999, 14% of East German employees and 8% of West German employees, including trainees, had a fixed-term employment contract. Any fixed-term contract must be consistent with the Act on Part-Time Work and Fixed-term Employment Relationships, which came into force on 01 January 2001 and replaced the Employment Promotion Act of 1985 and its further amendments.
The duration of fixed-term contracts must be set according to objective conditions such as a specific end date, the completion of a specific task, or the occurrence of a specific event.
It must also in principle be based on the justification which are laid down in sec. 14 para. 1 which comprises motives like the temporary requirement of a certain type of work, a limitation in order to make the worker's access into professional life easier or the replacement of an ill employee. However, a fixed-term contract may be also lawful without justification, if it falls under one of two exceptional cases:
the contract is concluded for a limited period of up to two years but does not follow any other contract with the same employer (sec. 14 paras 2);
the contract is concluded with an employee who is at least 58 years old.
If the employee wants to claim the ineffectiveness of a limitation, he/she must take legal action within three weeks after the agreed ending of the employment contract. An employee who is employed for a fixed-term must be given treatment equal to that given full-time employees employed to do similar work (sec. 4 para. 2, sec. 3 para. 2).
Probation