Permanent contract after temporary employment? Discover your rights!

Questioner

I accidentally discovered that I had a half year contract for the 4th time in the past half year. There was a period of 5 months between the 2nd and 3rd contract, due to private circumstances, in which I had no contract. Does this mean that I am now actually employed on a permanent basis?

Lawyer

Your temporary contract will automatically become a permanent contract if: 1. you have received more than 3 consecutive temporary contracts. 2. Or if you have had multiple temporary contracts with your employer for more than 2 years. Your temporary employment contract will automatically become permanent if multiple temporary contracts with your employer have exceeded a period of 2 years. There is a chain (temporary contracts that follow each other) if there is 6 months or less between the temporary contracts. If I read it correctly, this is your 4th contract of six months with only one intervening period of 5 months. So it is possible that you have a permanent contract. However, the collective labor agreement may deviate from the new rules that have applied to temporary contracts since July 1, 2015. The collective labor agreement may state that you may receive a maximum of 6 consecutive temporary contracts. And that temporary contracts are possible over a period of up to 4 years. Always consult your collective labor agreement. It may contain different rules.

Lawyer

You are then entitled to a permanent contract, if no exceptions apply. I recommend approaching this strategically.