Temporary contracts, everything you need to know about summer contracts and more.

Did you know that May is the month with the highest number of employment enquiries? This is mainly due to the fact that it is the month before June, that is, the month in which the summer season begins. During this season, as you are well aware, the service sector demands a large number of professionals, especially in tourist areas. As lawyers specialising in employment law, we would like to tell you everything you need to know about the temporary contracts that are signed during this season.

What types of temporary contracts are usually signed in summer?

If we were to search through all the different types of contracts available when it comes to signing a summer contract, we would probably need several articles like this one. We would have to tell you about contracts for the first young job, for workers in a situation of social exclusion, for victims of gender-based violence or for trainees. However, as they are the most common, we prefer to focus on these three:

Work or service contract

This is a contract focused, as its name suggests, on the performance of a specific work or service. It must be carried out autonomously by the company that hires the worker. By its very wording, it does not have a period of validity despite being a temporary type. However, the law specifies that it cannot exceed 3 years or, failing that, 4 years if the collective bargaining agreement for the sector so specifies.

Interim contract

It is used, in summer, to hire workers to replace the holidays of those who are employed during the rest of the year. It can also be used to cover sick leave or leave of absence of those for whom the position must be reserved.

Temporary contract due to circumstances of production

Earlier we said that in summer the demand for workers in the service sector shoots up. For this reason, this is the most common contract during this season. Unless the collective agreement of the sector stipulates a longer term, it can only be used for 6 months in each annual period. At the most, it can be up to 12 months within a one and a half year framework. It is linked to the increase in workload at a given point in time.

How to detect fraud in these contracts?

Unfortunately, many companies use these types of contracts, designed at the time to increase employment in a crisis situation, to obtain certain tax benefits and take advantage of the worker. Therefore, to find out whether you are in a situation of fraud by law or not, all you have to do is reflect on your employment situation based on the following questions:

1. Do you perform work other than that stated in your contract of employment?

2. Does your contract state exactly what work or service you are to perform?

3. Does your work correspond to the usual needs of your company?

4. Does your interim contract indicate the person he/she is replacing and the reason why his/her services are required? And what will happen when he/she returns to his/her duties?

How to make a claim for a situation of fraudulent evasion of the law?

If the answer to point 1 and/or 3 is yes, you are in a situation of fraudulent evasion of the law. And, if you answered no to 2 and/or 4, you are also in a situation of fraud. In any of these cases, you have the right to be considered as permanent.

To this end, it is essential, when it is impossible to reach an agreement with the company with which the employment relationship continues, to file a claim through the ordinary courts. In this regard, the judge, by means of a final judgment, will be the one to recognise the new situation. Similarly, in the event of dismissal, the worker has the right to claim compensation identical to that which would be received by a worker with a permanent contract, as it is considered unfair.

What rights do you have as a temporary worker?

You should assume that these contracts have a start and end date and that they can be either full-time or part-time. In any case, you have a series of inalienable rights when you are in this employment situation.

Firstly, your contract must be set out in the official model of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE). Similarly, your company's trade union representatives, if there are any, must be informed of your employment. You should also know that you cannot be obliged to have a probationary period. This must always be agreed.

Temporary workers have the right to know about vacancies for permanent positions in your company and to be able to apply for them openly. Once the contract comes to an end, you are entitled by law to 12 days' severance pay per year worked. Finally, when it comes to leave and holidays, your rights are identical to those of permanent employees.

Is it possible to collect unemployment benefits after the end of a temporary summer contract?

This is a very common question that has a very simple answer. Obviously, the termination of an employment contract cannot be understood as a dismissal, but neither can it be understood as voluntary redundancy. This is mainly because the termination is due to a cause beyond the employee's control. Therefore, there is a right to unemployment benefits.

However, the law establishes a series of requirements to be able to access unemployment benefits. Specifically, it equates them to those required to be able to receive unemployment benefit after a dismissal. This means that the worker will have to prove that he/she has paid at least 360 days of contributions during the 6 years prior to the termination of the contract.

As you will have seen, summer contracts must be governed by the same rules as temporary contracts made at any other time of the year. This means that you have a number of rights that you should be aware of. We hope that we have helped you in this regard and that, from now on, you will have a better understanding of your employment situation in the company that requires your services. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions on this subject.