Clifford Chance

Fixed-term employment contracts under scrutiny

7 April 2014

The judgment of the European Court of Justice of 13 March 2014 in case C-38/13 heralds major amendments to the current law on fixed-term employment contracts. In its judgment, the ECJ held that Polish provisions under which the notice period for a fixed-term worker carrying out similar work to a permanent worker and with a comparable length of service with the same employer is significantly shorter are contrary to EU law. In the extreme case to which the judgment related, it was six times shorter. The ECJ therefore confirmed the standpoint of the European Commission on the necessity of narrowing the differences in Polish law between fixed-term employment contracts and indefinite-term employment contracts, which is certain to accelerate legislative work on the matter.

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