A temporary contract “for production circumstances” is not a free-for-all: the law caps its duration, requires the cause to be written into the contract and limits how often it can be used. If any of the three fails, the contract becomes permanent. This is what article 15.2 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Workers Statute) allows and what it does not.
It covers two different situations
Article 15.2 defines production circumstances as the occasional and unforeseeable increase in activity and the fluctuations that, even though they are part of the company’s normal activity, create a temporary gap between the stable staff available and what is needed. Fluctuations include those caused by annual holidays.
There is a second, narrower situation: occasional, foreseeable situations of short and defined duration, including agricultural and agri-food campaigns. It has its own duration rules.
The contract must state the cause precisely
Under article 15.1, for a temporary cause to be justified the contract must specify precisely the enabling cause, the specific circumstances that justify it and their link to the expected duration. “Accumulation of work” with no further detail does not meet that. “Christmas campaign at the shop on X street, due to higher sales from 1 December to 6 January” is closer to what the rule asks.
If the contract breaches what article 15 requires, the people hired acquire permanent status (15.4).
Six months at most, one year if the collective agreement says so
For the unforeseeable increase or fluctuation cases, the duration cannot exceed six months. A sector-wide collective agreement (convenio colectivo sectorial) can extend the maximum to one year. According to the text, a company-level agreement is not enough.
If the contract was signed for less than the maximum, it can be extended once by agreement of the parties, without exceeding the maximum duration.
Predictable peaks are capped at 90 days a year
For occasional, foreseeable situations of short and defined duration, companies can use this contract for a maximum of ninety days in the calendar year. In agriculture and agri-food it is 120 days. This is how it works:
| Rule | What article 15.2 says |
|---|---|
| Annual cap | 90 days in the calendar year (120 in agriculture and agri-food) |
| Counting | Regardless of how many people are needed each day |
| Continuity | The days cannot be used continuously |
| Identification | The situations must be identified in the contract |
| Information | In the last quarter of each year, the company tells worker representatives its annual forecast of use |
| Farming, livestock and forestry | Short campaigns, annual limit of 120 actual working days |
The cap is the company’s, not yours. The company can use those 90 days with different people, but not more than 90 days in total in the year.
A routine service contract is not a cause
Article 15.2 says the cause cannot be work done under contracts, subcontracts or administrative concessions that make up the company’s usual or ordinary activity. If you work for a services company whose normal business is precisely covering client contracts, that is not a valid cause on its own, unless production circumstances arise as described above.
Chain the contracts and you become permanent
Article 15.5 contains two rules:
- Anyone who, within 24 months, has been employed for more than 18 months, with or without a gap, in the same or a different post with the same company or group, through two or more production-circumstances contracts (also via a temporary work agency), becomes permanent. It also applies where there has been a business succession or subrogación.
- Anyone filling a post that has been held for more than 18 months in 24 through production-circumstances contracts becomes permanent.
An example. Pedro has a 10-month contract and, after a 2-month gap, another of 9 months with the same company, all within 24 months:
| Stage | Months |
|---|---|
| First contract | 10 |
| Gap | 2 |
| Second contract | 9 |
| Months employed | 10 + 9 = 19 |
| Total period | 21 months (within 24) |
| Result | 19 > 18: he becomes permanent |
The company must give you a document confirming your new status within ten days (15.9). You can ask the public employment service for a certificate of your contracts. The full explanation is in when a temporary contract becomes permanent.
When it ends you are owed 12 days per year
Article 49.1.c gives the proportional part of 12 days’ salary per year of service when a production-circumstances contract ends. On a salary of €18,000 gross a year, the daily rate is €49.32 (18,000 / 365). A four-month contract generates 4 days (12 days × 4/12), so 4 × €49.32 = €197.26, on top of your finiquito. More in severance at the end of a temporary contract.
If the contract lasts more than a year, the party ending it must give the other at least 15 days notice (49.1.c).
Also check whether a probation period was agreed and its maximum duration in Spain; the employer cannot simply assume one applies.
Why your case may be different
- A sector agreement can extend to one year. Check before assuming an eight-month contract is irregular.
- Replacement contracts follow a different paragraph. They do not count towards these limits. If that is you, read interim contract in Spain.
- The real cause beats the label. If the contract says “production circumstances” but you do the company’s normal, permanent work, it may be an improper use. Have someone look at your contracts.
- The deadline to challenge a dismissal is short. It is 20 working days from termination (article 59.3), although it is paused when you file a conciliation request.
What to do if you think yours is irregular
- Keep all your contracts and extensions. Ask for copies in writing if you do not have them.
- Request your vida laboral (work history) and add up the months.
- Check that each contract states the cause, circumstances and duration.
- Before the contract ends, write to the company asking to be recognised as permanent.
- Speak to a union or an employment lawyer before signing any finiquito.
This page is general information. If deadlines or money are at stake, speak to an employment lawyer (abogado laboralista) or a union.