Yes, but it’s not always as simple as it sounds.
In many sectors – healthcare, hospitality, events management and retail – fixed-term contracts (FTCs ) are a common management tool for meeting occasional needs. But what happens when an employee works on several fixed-term contracts within the same company? Is this legal? Is it regulated? And when does it become problematic?
A legal but regulated practice
The short answer: yes, you can have several fixed-term contracts with the same company, but only under certain strict conditions laid down in the French Labor Code.
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Each contract must correspond to a precise and justified situation: replacement of an absent employee, temporary increase in activity, seasonal assignment, etc. Employers cannot hire on fixed-term contracts “for the fun of it” or to avoid a permanent contract. Clearly: no repeated fixed-term contracts for permanent positions.
Limits that must not be crossed
It is possible for an employee to have several successive fixed-term contracts with the same company, provided they are not for the same position, unless there is a waiting period between two contracts.
This period varies according to the length of the previous CDD. For example:
- For a 1-month fixed-term contract, the waiting period is 10 days.
- For a 6-month fixed-term contract, the waiting period is 1 month.
But there are exceptions: there is no waiting period if the new fixed-term contract concerns another position, a replacement or a seasonal assignment.
When recourse becomes abusive
A series of fixed-term contracts is not unlimited. If an employer abuses this practice, for example by renewing an employee’s contract for the same position via successive fixed-term contracts, he may find himself in an illegal situation. The employee can then take the matter to the industrial tribunal and demand that the contract be reclassified as an open-ended contract.
It’s also a question of intent: if the company is clearly seeking to avoid hiring on a permanent basis by constantly renewing short-term contracts, it is taking a legal risk.
