Employment Contracts and Labor Laws: Types, Rights, and Regulations
**Employment Contracts**
An employment contract is defined as the expression of intent from both sides of the employment relationship, employer and employee, on the conditions under which to develop the work.
Form and Validity of the Employment Contract
Can be written or verbal, except for specific cases. All contracts are presumed indefinite unless proven otherwise. Written contracts are required for temporary contracts and full-time, indefinite contracts for specific circumstances of production lasting less than four weeks.
Essentials of an Employment Contract
- Parties involved
- Job description
- Work location
- Professional category or group
- Vacation time
- Salary
- Notice periods
- Applicable collective agreement
Contractual Arrangements
All contracts should be indefinite. Contracts may be concluded for a specific time when specific circumstances are met, as defined for each type of temporary contract.
Contract Types
- Permanent:
- Regular indefinite
- Indefinite with employment program incentives
- Permanent discontinuous
- Temporary:
- Training contract
- Internship contract
- Work and service contract
- Temporary contract for production circumstances
- Subsidized contract
Eventual contracts can transition into part-time contracts, which can be permanent or temporary.
Indefinite Contract
One of the few contracts that can be verbal or written. It can be full-time or part-time. Employers may receive incentives, such as reduced social security contributions. Severance pay for inappropriate dismissal is reduced to 33 days of salary per year of service, with a maximum of 24 months.
Training Contract
Its purpose is to provide adequate training for the worker. Requirements include being between 16 and 21 years old (24 for unemployed individuals), not having qualifications for an internship contract, and not having previously held a similar position for more than 12 months. It must be full-time. The worker does not contribute to unemployment, so they are not entitled to unemployment benefits, but the time worked counts towards receiving them in the future.
Internship Contract
The purpose is for the employee to acquire professional experience appropriate to their level of studies. Requirements include having a relevant professional degree and that no more than four years have passed since the completion of studies. It must be in writing and contain the worker’s degree, contract duration, and job duties. The minimum duration is 6 months, and the maximum is 2 years. It can be full-time or part-time.
Work and Service Contract
It is used to perform a task or service unrelated to normal business activity and of uncertain duration. It must be in writing and clearly identify the work and service. Completion must be notified in advance. If the contract is for more than a year, the notice period is 15 days. If the employer fails to provide notice, they must pay the employee compensation equivalent to the salary for the days the term was not met. It can be full-time or part-time.
Temporary Contract for Production Circumstances
These contracts should only be used to address special market circumstances, such as work accumulation or excess orders. They must be in writing if the duration is more than four weeks. If verbal, they must be full-time. The maximum duration is 6 months within a 12-month reference period. The employee is entitled to an allowance of 8 days per year worked at the end of the contract. It can be full-time or part-time.
Temporary Replacement Contract
It is used to replace a worker with the right to reserve their job or to temporarily fill a position. It must be in writing and include the replaced worker and the reason for the substitution. The worker will not receive compensation upon completion. It must be full-time.
Undefined and Part-Time Contracts
Relief Contract
It is concluded to partially replace a worker who is accessing partial early retirement. The worker must be registered as unemployed at the employment office.
Part-Time Contract
It is concluded to partially replace a worker entering partial early retirement. It must be formalized in writing. Part-time workers may not work overtime but can work complementary hours if their contract is indefinite.
Temporary Agency Work
This is a business that hires workers and then assigns them to another company for a specific time.
Contracting Through a Temporary Employment Agency (ETT)
The contract can be permanent or temporary, and its duration coincides with the period for which the worker provides services to the user company. It cannot be used to contract minors, transfer workers to another ETT, or replace striking workers. It must be in writing. The salary will be provided by the minimum remuneration established by the collective agreement applicable to the user company. The ETT is obligated to comply with social security obligations. It can sanction the employee for any infractions. The user company must inform the worker of occupational hazards.
Working Hours and Schedule
Working hours refer to the number of hours per week, day, or year that a worker is paid for. The schedule is the distribution of working time and rest during the working day, indicating the start and end times. The schedule is rigid when the start and end times are fixed, or flexible when there is a margin of freedom within certain limits and a fixed period of stay.
The maximum duration of the workday cannot exceed 9 hours. The average weekly working time is 40 hours per year. Workers under 18 may not work more than 8 hours of actual work.
Overtime
It is voluntary and should not exceed 80 hours per year. It is prohibited for those under 18, during night shifts, in part-time contracts, or during maternity or paternity leave, except in cases of force majeure or irregularities in shift changes.
Special Work Organization
This refers to work between 10 PM and 6 AM. It has a specific fee unless it is nocturnal by nature or compensation through rest periods has been agreed upon. It is forbidden for those under 18.
Night Work
Workers successively occupy the same positions according to a certain rhythm, continuous or discontinuous, where they serve at different times within a given period of days or weeks.
Breaks and Holidays
Weekly Rest
Workers are entitled to a minimum weekly rest of one and a half uninterrupted days.
Break Between Working Days
There must be at least 12 hours of rest between the end of one workday and the beginning of the next.
Rest During Continuous Work
Workers are entitled to a rest period of at least 15 minutes if the workday exceeds 6 hours.
Public Holidays
Paid and non-recoverable public holidays may not exceed 14 per year, 2 of which will be local.
Work Calendar
Companies must create an annual work calendar that must be displayed in each workplace.
Vacations and Paid Leave
Paid vacations are the interruption of work activity throughout the year for the worker’s rest. They are a constitutional right and cannot be replaced by economic compensation. The duration of vacations is agreed upon in a collective or individual contract, and it cannot be less than 30 calendar days. If the full year is not worked, this period is reduced proportionally. The enjoyment of vacations is determined by mutual agreement between the employer and employee, according to the company’s annual planning. Vacations are taken within the calendar year to which they relate, from January 1st to December 31st, and may be taken in full or in installments as agreed upon by the parties. Vacation dates must be known by the worker two months before their start. In case of disagreement, the labor court will determine the date of enjoyment.
Paid Leave
Workers, with prior notice and subsequent justification, may be absent from work, regardless of age, with the right to remuneration, for the following reasons and durations:
- Marriage: 15 calendar days
- Prenatal exams and childbirth preparation techniques to be carried out during the working day, as long as required: Necessary time
- Childbirth, death, accident or serious illness, hospitalization, or surgery without hospitalization requiring home rest of relatives up to the second degree: 2 days (4 days if travel is required)
- Moving to a new usual residence: 1 day
- Fulfilling an inexcusable public and personal duty: Necessary time or as legally determined
- Union duties or worker representation: Time established by law or collective agreement
Other paid leaves include attending exams, advanced training (3 months per displaced worker), and 4 working days at the domicile of origin.