All our lawyers regularly advise English-speaking clients and speak English perfectly.
Your fixed-term contract may already be a permanent one. German law (TzBfG) sets strict rules for fixed terms — and violations do not void your job, they upgrade it: an invalid fixed term automatically converts into a permanent employment relationship.
The rules your employer must follow
- Written form before you start. The fixed term must be signed by both sides before day one. Signed afterwards — or only by email? Very likely invalid.
- Without objective reason: maximum 2 years total, maximum 3 extensions — and not if you were ever employed by the same employer before.
- With objective reason (project, cover, budget): the reason must genuinely exist. Serial fixed terms over many years are regularly struck down by courts.
The deadline
If you want a court to declare the fixed term invalid, you must file within three weeks after the agreed end date (§ 17 TzBfG). Like the dismissal deadline, it is unforgiving.
Typical international cases
Research and university positions, project staff at international corporates, chain contracts at subsidiaries. We check the paper trail — often a single formal error turns a „temporary“ job into a permanent one, or into significant settlement leverage.