Fixed-term contracts: equal treatment and renewals
Directive 1999/70 protects fixed-term workers against unjustified differences in treatment and abusive renewals. Check Belgian law for the specific limits on successive contracts.
The Commission explains that a contract being temporary does not in itself justify less favourable conditions than those of a comparable permanent worker. Any difference must rest on objective grounds. Check the advertised benefits and the conditions offered for the fixed-term contract.
To prevent abuse, Member States must provide one or more measures: objective grounds for renewal, a maximum total duration or a maximum number of renewals. The directive does not set a uniform number of fixed-term contracts allowed throughout the Union. Check the sequence of contracts before offering a new fixed-term contract. The text, published on 10 July 1999, also covers seasonal workers within its scope.