13 of March, 2025

Since the last labor reform, discontinuous fixed contracts are the most signed in Spain. In this article, we are going to talk about them and highlight the most relevant information, as well as their different advantages.

Furthermore, we will explain how they are formalized and the steps following the completion of the activity. Will your employees become unemployed or will you have to continue contributing for them? Keep reading to discover all the details.

What are discontinuous fixed contracts

This modality of discontinuous fixed contracts is classified within the group of indefinite contracts. However, it has the special characteristic that the development of tasks is carried out in aintermittent way.

Do you have a business with seasonal demand? In that case, you will be interested in knowing the details about this hiring model.

Currently, it is the most used option by companies that do not need workers permanently throughout the year. This occurs, above all, in the hospitality sector.

However, it is also valid for some industries and different companies in the services sector.

Now employees enjoy greater stability, but will only work during the months you request.

All the specifics of these contracts are regulated in Article 16 of the Worker’s Statute.

How discontinuous fixed contracts should be formalized

Discontinuous fixed contracts must be formalized in writing and must contain some data mandatory. The document will include:

The estimated duration of work time.
The way and order of the call to the position.
Working hours and schedule distribution. This data may be indicative.

From the moment the employee signs, it is considered to bepart of your staff. Therefore, they will have the same rights as other workers. Did you know this?

How is the period of work activity

In the document of the discontinuous fixed contracts the time of activity must be stipulated and during those months the employee performs their work and receives their full salary. They also contribute to Social Security.

What happens when the activity period ends

When what is considered the period of work ends, the employee stops going to his position and does not receive any salary. However, their link with the company will not have expired because there is no end of the employment contract.

The company will deliver the settlement, that is, the liquidation of what it has pending to pay. Despite the name, it has no relation to the typical settlement of contract termination.

Having signed a discontinuous fixed contract, as a businessman you will have to call the same person when they are needed again.

During the months of inactivity, the worker has the right to unemployment benefit if they meet the necessary requirements.

It should also be taken into account that during the period of inactivity the employee does not contribute to Social Security.

What are the calls

Call is understood as the procedure followed by the human resources department of an organization to ask the worker with a discontinuous fixed contract to rejoin their position. This is necessary for them to resume their activity.

To carry out this call, what you will have to do is notify your employees in the order and in the way that is established in each collective agreement.

If you do not make the call, it will be understood that the worker has suffered wrongful dismissal, although they must request it.

What can workers do if they are not notified

Employees have the right to file a claim through the judicial route. It is done by submitting a letter to claim wrongful dismissal based on non compliance of the contracting party.

The deadline for submitting the claim should not exceed 20 business days from the moment they were aware of the lack of call established by the discontinuous fixed contracts.

What if the worker does not respond to the call?

As the Workers’ Statute does not regulate it, each collective agreement must be consulted. To make a decision in this regard, the reason why they did not respond to your call should also be taken into account.

In this situation, it can only be understood that the worker wants to end the employment relationship when the lack of response does not have a justified cause.

If the employee has a justified cause, they will continue their employment relationship with the company through a discontinuous fixed contract.

Advantages of discontinuous fixed contracts

When hiring under this modality, some advantages exist for both the employer and the employee. Let’s see the advantages it offers to your company:

Access to bonuses that can be requested for hiring indefinite workers.
This type of workers brings stability to the workforce, even if they are not continuously active. Each time they join, they will know how to carry out their work, so training costs for new employees will be saved.
It allows adapting the number of staff to the company’s activity. This is vital in businesses where demand fluctuation is important.

And for the employees? They also have benefits.

The greatest advantage that the discontinuous fixed contract offers them, besides stability, is the fact that the compensation is higher in case of dismissal.

Labor management is the most important thing in a business

Due to the importance of managing the workforce well, Sesame HR offers a system that allows you to sort, classify, and store all your employees’ data.

In this way, you can manage everything related to staff organization, working hours, and vacations, as well as the situation of each employee.

Moreover, the “Export” function allows you to create spreadsheets that are easier to share with your consultancy to improve performance.

Did you find this information interesting? Now that you know everything related to discontinuous fixed contracts, do not hesitate to visit our website to keep learning about our HR software.

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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cristinamartin

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What are fixed-term discontinuous contracts and their characteristics