The 7 Types Of Employment Contract (and Their Characteristics)
One of the main concerns of citizens of different countries around the world is work and/or the absence of it. Having an occupation is necessary, since it allows us to exercise a social function which at the same time allows us to obtain the necessary resources to provide us with the elements necessary for our subsistence and well-being.
However, the effort and time dedicated to the work activity must be rewarded in some way, requiring an agreement between the person who is going to work and the person, company or institution that is going to benefit from said effort.
This agreement is the employment contract. But the agreements that are reached will have different characteristics, depending on the objective or temporality of the contract. It is because of that There are different types of employment contract which we will see throughout this article.
The employment contract is the agreement reached between the employee and the employer and through which the services and activities to be performed for the second by the employee are established and formalized, as well as the remuneration that the latter will receive as payment for their services.
On the other hand, the employment contract is not an abstract entity, but in most cases it is reflected in a document signed by both parties in which the two subjects, the employee and the contracting company, undertake to comply with a series of measures in search of mutual benefit, given initial conditions. Therefore, regardless of the type of employment contract we are dealing with, they are all drafted paying attention to details and leaving things as clear as possible, so that there is no room for ambiguity, since that could be taken advantage of by some of the parties.
Although the text that appears in an employment contract may seem very technical (and to a certain extent, it is), this has its reason for leaving no room for doubt; The specialized language allows us to go into detail… although at the price that some people with little training may have problems understanding the content of this document at first. That is why if you have problems in this regard, it is advisable to have advice. Future employees are not required to sign the employment contract immediately, they can have time to examine it and resolve doubts.
All types of employment contracts establish the rights and obligations of each of the parties, as well as the mutual consent of the business relationship and the objective of said relationship.
Other aspects to take into account and that must be clearly reflected in the contract are its duration, the existence or absence of a trial period the commitment and the need for prior notice in case of wanting to terminate the agreement before the agreed period, the consequences of its non-compliance by any of the parties and any other agreement reached in the contracting process.
Contract types
By virtue of the characteristics that we have seen, It is possible to establish different types of contracts In Spain, until a few years ago we had a total of 42 types of employment contracts.
However, in December 2013 the number of contract types was reduced to a total of four basic employment contract types, which we will detail below.
1. Permanent contract
This is a type of contract that is established without a temporal limitation with regard to the period of performance of the service In other words, in this type of contract an end date is not stipulated. It assumes the existence of stability on the part of the employee, and in the event that the employer decides to terminate the employment relationship, he must compensate the aforementioned.
This type of contract can only be made verbally in some cases, although it can always be required (and in fact is recommended) to be formalized in writing.
At the same time, permanent employment entails a series of advantages not only for the employee but also for the employer, by being able to benefit from various types of aid or tax deductions depending on the type of worker hired (since it is understood that through this type of employment contract, the company is generating quality employment, which benefits the country). For example, people with disabilities, entrepreneurs, young people, groups at risk of social exclusion, people over 52 years of age or ex-convicts will see different clauses specific to their condition included.
It must be taken into account that except in the cases of interim, training or relief contract subtypes, this type of contract will be changed if two years of commercial activity with the same company are exceeded.
2. Temporary contract
The temporary contract represents an agreement between employer and employee in which the provision of services is stipulated during a specific temporary period
In general, all of them must be done in writing , although some of them can under specific circumstances be done orally. The trial periods will vary depending on the stipulated hiring time. For the most part, extensions are allowed. Within this type of contracts we can find several subtypes, among which the following stand out:
2.1. For work or service
This type of contract is used in those employment relationships that are known to have a specific beginning and end, although completion date is uncertain and is limited to the completion of a certain service.
2.2. Eventual
This type of contract, which must last a maximum of six months, It is one of the most common today In principle, this contract is used in those moments when a company or employer requires temporary help due to unforeseen circumstances in which a greater number of workers than usual is needed.
23. Interim
The interim contract is one whose main objective is to cover or replace a temporarily vacant position. The duration of the contract covers the time of absence of the worker or vacancy to be replaced. It is usually carried out upon the request and granting of sick leave to employees their vacation or while a selection process is being carried out to fill the vacancy.
2.4. relief
This type of contract is used in situations where it is necessary to replace a person within a company for a specific period, which has a reduction in working hours due to partial retirement In this way, the contract is made to cover the part of the day corresponding to which the replaced worker stops working.
This type of contract should only be used with individuals between sixteen and thirty years of age (up to twenty-five if the unemployment rate falls below 15%).
Its main function is to allow an alternation between work activity and training , which aims to increase job insertion while providing the proper training that allows one to work properly. They can last up to three years at most, after which it is possible (although not mandatory) to join the workforce indefinitely. The remuneration must not be less than the minimum interprofessional salary, being agreed upon by agreement.
4. Internship contract
In a similar way to the training and learning contract, the internship contract is carried out under the pretense of improve the qualification and professional competence of the employee in order to exercise efficiently. It is linked to specific training, offering experience in the sector while allowing a better understanding of the training content. The remuneration is set by agreement, and it is not possible for it to be less than 75% of what a worker in the same position would receive.
On the other hand, companies that choose to use this type of employment contracts with part of their staff must be able to demonstrate that they do not treat these people as they would with an employee who is not in the company to learn, but mainly to work for pay. Likewise, companies cannot base most of their productive potential on hiring interns. Ultimately, there is a risk that some companies will choose to use this type of contract as a covert way of having employees work just as someone who is not training would do, something that they try to tackle through labor inspections, among other measures.
