Fixed-term contracts: maximum duration and renewal in Luxembourg

Maximum duration — general rule

The total duration of a fixed-term contract, including renewals, may not exceed 24 months for the same employee (Art. L. 122-4, §1).

Exceptions to the 24-month rule

The law provides three situations in which the general rule may be departed from:

Seasonal contracts — 10 months maximum

Seasonal contracts may not be concluded for a total duration exceeding 10 months within any given period of twelve consecutive months, including renewals (Art. L. 122-4, §2).

Specific cases — 60 months maximum

Certain contracts falling under Art. L. 122-1, §3 points 1, 3 and 4 may reach a total maximum duration of 60 months, including renewals (Art. L. 122-4, §4). These include contracts concluded under specific employment measures.

Ministerial authorisation

The Minister of Labour may exceptionally authorise the extension of the 24-month ceiling for employees performing activities requiring highly specialised knowledge and proven experience (Art. L. 122-4, §3). This derogation remains exceptional and is subject to prior ministerial approval.

Renewal rules

A fixed-term contract may be renewed at most twice for a definite term (Art. L. 122-5, §1).

For a renewal to be valid, it must comply with a strict formal requirement: the principle or conditions of renewal must be set out in a clause of the original contract or in an amendment concluded before the expiry of the term (Art. L. 122-5, §1).

Exceptions to the two-renewal limit

Certain categories of employees may benefit from more than two renewals without reclassification as a permanent contract, even if the total duration exceeds 24 months:

• intermittent workers in the performing arts (Art. L. 122-5, §4);
• certain staff in education, municipal services, sports federations or religious education instructors (Art. L. 122-5, §3);
• contracts concluded under Art. L. 122-1, §3 point 5, within a limit of 5 years (Art. L. 122-5, §3).

Special case: seasonal contracts and the roll-over clause

A seasonal contract may include a roll-over clause for the following season (Art. L. 122-5, §2).

However, if such a clause exists and the contractual relationship is repeated for more than two seasons between the same employer and the same employee, the entire employment relationship is transformed into a contract of overall indefinite duration (Art. L. 122-5, §2).

Summary of maximum durations