Employment contracts
It is a legal requirement that employers must provide the employee with an employment contract if their employment lasts for at least a month and the the average weekly working time exceeds eight hours per week.
When is a contract legally required?
It is a legal requirement that employers must provide the employee with an employment contract if their employment lasts for at least a month and the the average weekly working time exceeds eight hours per week.If the general terms of the employment are regulated by a collective agreement, the employment contract will typically include a reference to applicable collective agreement.
What should the contract contain?
The contract describes the specific conditions of the employment. It must at least contain information on the following:
Employer's and employee's name and address.
The location of the workplace or, if there is no fixed workplace, where the work is primarily performed/information that the employee is to work in various locations, and the employer's main office or address.
Job description or employee's job title, rank or job category.
Employment commencement date.
Expected duration of employment, if not permanent employment.
The employee's rights regarding holidays, including whether salary will be paid while the employee is on Holiday.
Employee's and employer's terms of notice.
The applicable or agreed salary to which the employee is entitled upon commencement of employment and allowances or other forms of remuneration that are not included herein, e.g. pension contributions, lodging and meals. The frequency of salary payments must also be included in the contract.
The standard daily or weekly working hours.
Information on which collective agreements or other agreements that regulate the employment and working conditions. If the collective agreements or agreements in question were entered into by parties outside of the company, these parties must be identified in the contract.
To avoid any doubts or misunderstandings, it is always a good idea to have the employment contract translated into a language the employee is familiar with but the employer is not required to do so by law.
Changes to the employment contract
An employer may generally make changes to the employment contract by virtue of the right of management, to the extent the employment conditions do not stipulate against essential changes.
If essential changes become relevant, e.g. with respect to work tasks and area of responsibility, salary, working hours and location, the employer is to provide the employee with a notice equal to their notice period. In that way, the employee has the opportunity to either accept the revised conditions or decline them and terminate their employment.
