There are some main features and formalities related to an employment contract for a particular project or service, which falls into the group of so-called temporary contracts. Like other contracts in this group, such as the casual contract due to production overload, backlog, or the temporary replacement contract, an employment contract is undeniably useful for business. Whenever used properly and according to legal provisions, an employment contract is useful to meet certain business needs which, by their nature, do not have a stable character within the entrepreneurial activity (for example, a commercial campaign for a given product or service).
If a business activity occurs in separate time intervals but repeats frequently, a permanent seasonal contract must form.
What determines the legality of a temporary contract is its extraordinary character and that it does not repeat over time (for example, the reception of a new and unexpected order or the creation and launch of a new product line).
Whenever there is a need for recruitment for intermittent or cyclical work, the most appropriate type of contract would be the permanent seasonal one. Therefore, the contract for a specific project or service shall apply to less repetitive and not homogeneous cases.
Formalisation, Duration, and Working Hours
An employment contract for a particular project or service allows a person to complete projects or services autonomously and substantively within a company’s business activity. Even though the performance of the contract is limited in time, it is initially signed for an undetermined duration. However, its overall duration must not exceed three years.
It is important to note the requirement of the undetermined duration. If a specific completion date of a project or service is known, this type of contract must not be used (for example, a specific campaign promoting a product that lasts exactly one week).
This type of contract must have its uniqueness from the normal business activity or have different specific results than those typical for the organization.
- Collective agreements are available for use in certain specific sectors of activity where such contracts are unavoidable due to the nature of the activity carried out or the temporary nature of the work.
Collective agreements may regulate many aspects of this contract concerning the characteristics and limitations of the contract as well as the possibility of termination of the contract.
- It may cover full-time or part-time employment.
- The time required to complete the work or service sets the duration of these contracts. If the contract determines its duration or time limit, these are indicative terms and conditions as established above. Contracts must have a maximum duration of three years, which may extend for 12 additional months by a nationwide sectoral collective agreement, or, in the absence of this, by a sectoral collective agreement of a more limited scope. After the indicated period, the working relationship continues under a permanent employment contract.
- The contract must be in writing. It must specify the precise nature of the project or service that constitutes the purpose of the contract, its duration, and its objectives.
For more information on contracts for specific projects in Spain,
