Positive and negative implications entailed by fixed-term employment contracts

Abstract

Generally, fixed-term employment contracts are seen as a stepping stone to permanent employment; they have become popular among the flexible forms of work contracts, and are the object of an increasing number of debates and assessments, investigating both the respective legislation and the specific consequences on the parties concluding a fixed-term employment contract. Despite the positive aspects of temporary employment – a positive effect on the rate of employment, and the common perception of such contracts as a preliminary step to permanent employment, as well as the flexibility they bring to the labor market – one cannot ignore the negative implications of fixed-term contracts on the nature of the employment relationship, the system of social protection, the working conditions, the economic security, and the job stability. Based on these considerations, the present paper investigates the advantages and disadvantages of the individual fixed-term employment contract from the standpoints of both employers and employees. Obviously, this approach aims to explore the usefulness and importance of these contract types, as means for balancing the needs of employers and employees on the labor market, and for identifying concrete instances that justify the liberalization of fixed-term employment, despite all the inherent risks entailed by any type of non-standard work: lack of job security; reduced social protection and security for those concluding such a contract.