On April 9, 2019, the Regional Labor Court in Düsseldorf ruled (file number 3 Sa 1126/18) that a fixed-term agreement was ineffective and a permanent employment relationship was therefore established with the employee, since the maximum duration of a fixed-term employment relationship without objective reason was only exceeded by a single day .
In the present judgment of the Regional Labor Court in Düsseldorf, it was found that the employee's claim for an unlimited period of time in the employment contract was justified. The employee had signed an amendment contract that extended the employment contract until September 4, 2018. However, this extension led to the maximum permissible duration of two years for unfounded fixed-term contracts pursuant to Section 14 (2) sentence 1 of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG) being exceeded. Since the employer had neither given a factual reason for the limitation nor an exception according to § 14 paragraph 1 TzBfG, the limitation of the employment relationship was declared ineffective.
Specifically, this had the following background:
The court determined that the employment relationship had already ended on September 4, 2016 - and thus one day before the actually planned start! – had started. Although the written employment contract indicated September 5, 2016 as the start date, the parties had previously agreed that the employee would arrive on September 4, 2016 for training. The travel and accommodation expenses for September 4th were covered by the employer. With the arrival for the training on September 4, 2016, the employee's work was started in the interest of the service and the travel time was counted as working time. According to the case law of the Federal Labor Court (BAG), the travel time used for approved trips to training courses outside the place of work is counted as working time that is subject to remuneration, unless a different remuneration arrangement has been made between the contracting parties.
The two-year period according to § 14 paragraph 2 sentence 1 TzBfG therefore ended on September 3, 2018. By agreeing to extend the time limit until September 4, 2018, this period was exceeded by one day, which led to the ineffectiveness of the time limit agreement.
Due to the fact that the permissible fixed-term period was exceeded and the finding that the employment relationship had already begun on September 4, 2016, the fixed-term employment contract was considered to be concluded for an indefinite period. Therefore, the action to have the employment contract suspended was declared justified and the employment relationship continues.
Minefield time limit!
This decision once again impressively shows what pitfalls and pitfalls lurk in the law on fixed-term contracts. Sound legal advice is therefore crucial when dealing with labor law matters such as fixed-term contracts.
Attorney Michael Gabler is a specialist lawyer for labor law with many years of experience and sound expertise in the field of fixed-term employment contracts. He is at your disposal to provide you with comprehensive advice and to assist you with any questions related to fixed-term contracts and their implications.
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