Employment contracts made simple

By duration an employment contract is open-ended or fixed-term, by working time full-time or part-time. An employment contract is presumed to be open-ended and full-time. Agreements can also be made alongside the employment contract, for example on remote work or a non-compete, and terms can be changed with an agreement amending the employment contract.

Yes, an employment contract is made in writing (ECA § 4). Not following the form does not make the contract void: an employment contract is deemed to be made also when the employee starts doing work that can only be expected for pay. A contract signed by hand on paper and one signed digitally are equivalent.

Four months from starting work, unless the contract agrees a shorter probation period or none at all. For a fixed-term contract of up to eight months, the probation period is at most half the length of the contract. Time when the employee was, for example, ill or on holiday is not counted in the probation period (ECA § 10¹).

Up to five years. If a fixed-term contract for similar work is made more than twice in a row, or extended more than once within five years, the employment is deemed open-ended from the start. Contracts with a gap of up to two months between them count as consecutive (ECA § 9, § 10).

Then the contract is deemed open-ended, unless the employer expressed a different intention within five working days of learning, or of when they should have learned, of it (ECA § 80 (3)).

No. An employment contract can only be changed by agreement of the parties (ECA § 12). A change, for example new pay or working hours, is best recorded as a written agreement amending the employment contract.

By agreement, yes: the contract then ends on the day agreed. Unilaterally and without notice, a contract can only be terminated extraordinarily if, taking all circumstances into account, continuing it cannot reasonably be demanded, for example after a serious breach (ECA § 97 (3), § 98 (2)).

Not for ordinary termination. An employee must give reasons only for extraordinary termination, the employer always. The reasons are given in a form that can be reproduced in writing (ECA § 95).

On redundancy the employer pays the employee compensation of one month's average pay (ECA § 100). The employee may also be entitled to the Unemployment Insurance Fund's insurance benefit on the conditions of the Unemployment Insurance Act.

An agreement by which the employee undertakes not to work for a competitor of the employer or in the same line of business. After the employment ends it is valid only if it was made in writing, for up to one year, and the employer pays reasonable monthly compensation for it (ECA § 23, § 24).