fixed-term contract
noun · befristeter Arbeitsvertrag
Befristeter Arbeitsvertrag, a contract limited in time under the TzBfG. The German rules are strict: without an objective reason a fixed term is capped, and if the limitation is invalid, for instance for want of an objective reason, of the written form, or of the time cap, the contract does not simply end but becomes permanent.
Which translation, when
Why
Fixed-term contract is befristeter Arbeitsvertrag, and the risk is to assume the loose renewability of some other systems. The Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz allows a fixed term on two routes: with an objective reason, § 14 Abs. 1 TzBfG, where there is no fixed time cap but chains of contracts can become abusive; or without an objective reason, § 14 Abs. 2 TzBfG, for up to two years with at most three extensions inside that period. The reason-free route is not open where an employment relationship with the same employer existed before, the Vorbeschäftigungsverbot, which case law softens only for prior employment that was very long ago, very different or very short. Two consequences bite. An invalid limitation does not simply end the contract; it turns it into an unbefristetes, permanent, relationship, § 16 TzBfG, which the employer can then end at earliest at the intended date and only by ordinary dismissal. And the limitation must be in writing before work starts, § 14 Abs. 4 TzBfG; a merely oral fixed term is invalid, so the contract is permanent. A fixed-term contract also cannot normally be terminated before its agreed end unless that was agreed. So rendering the words as befristeter Arbeitsvertrag is right, but missing that a defective limitation produces a permanent contract understates the stakes.
Typical mistakes
- An invalid fixed term does not end the contract but makes it permanent, § 16 TzBfG, so treating a defective limitation as simply expiring reverses the consequence.
- The reason-free fixed term is capped at two years with at most three renewals and is barred after prior employment with the same employer, § 14 Abs. 2 TzBfG, so assuming free renewal is wrong.
- The limitation must be in writing before work starts, § 14 Abs. 4 TzBfG, or it is void and the contract is permanent, so overlooking the written form misses a decisive point.
What matters
Rendering a fixed-term arrangement under German law, the translation should use befristeter Arbeitsvertrag, mark the written-form requirement and the two-year cap without an objective reason, § 14 TzBfG, and flag that a defective limitation makes the contract permanent, § 16 TzBfG. Treating it as a freely renewable temporary contract understates the rules.
What the machine misses
Machine output renders fixed-term contract as befristeter Arbeitsvertrag but then treats it as a freely renewable temporary contract that simply ends. It loses that under the TzBfG a reason-free fixed term is capped and barred after prior employment, that the limitation must be in writing, and above all that a defective limitation makes the contract permanent, § 16 TzBfG, rather than ending it. The rendering hides the conversion into a permanent relationship.
Examples
| a fixed-term employment contract | ein befristeter Arbeitsvertrag |
| a fixed term without an objective reason | eine sachgrundlose Befristung |
| the limitation is invalid | die Befristung ist unwirksam |
| the contract becomes permanent | der Vertrag wird unbefristet |