Supreme Court: need for flexible staff not enough to justify 13 years as temp worker

In a case brought by a temporary worker seeking a permanent contract, the Supreme Court has ruled that employing someone on a temporary basis for 13 years in a row is too long. The worker had repeatedly asked for a permanent contract, which the employer denied. According to the court, a company’s claim that it needs a “flexible staff pool” is not a valid reason to keep someone in a temporary position for so long.

The temporary worker had worked for the same company as a production employee for nearly 13 consecutive years until 2022. “Such a long-term placement can constitute abuse of the temporary contract,” the Supreme Court stated. The company refused to offer the employee a permanent contract, claiming it needed flexible staff.

The Supreme Court overturned the earlier decisions of the district court and the court of appeal, both of which had ruled in the company’s favor. The case has now been sent to a different court of appeal for a new assessment.

The Supreme Court notes that, under European directives and case law, EU countries must guarantee that temporary employment remains truly temporary. This applies whether the role is a single ongoing assignment or a sequence of consecutive assignments.

A temporary contract is deemed misused if a worker is employed for longer than what can reasonably be considered temporary and no sufficient justification is provided.

According to the Supreme Court, the company’s need for a flexible staff pool “does not constitute a sufficient justification.” The court adds that if the court of appeal intended to argue that there was a valid objective reason for the worker’s prolonged temporary employment in these specific circumstances, it failed to provide adequate reasoning for that conclusion.