EMPLOYMENT : REPLACEMENT NEEDS MAY JUSTIFY REPEATED FIXED-TERM CONTRACTS - ECJ.

• Position: European Union Court of Justice - Brief article

The temporary need for replacement staff can in principle constitute an objective reason for fixed-term contracts being concluded with replacement staff and the renewal of such contracts. This is the gist of a judgement handed down by the EU Court of Justice in Case C-586/10, on 26 January. The case, referred to the EU court by the Cologne (Germany) labour court, concerns 13 fixed-term employment contracts concluded successively and without interruption over a period of 11 years between Bianca Kucuk and the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The court pointed out that Council Directive 1999/70/EC, which implements the framework agreement on fixed-term work concluded by the general cross-industry organisations (ETUC, UNICE and CEEP), obliges member states to prevent abuse arising from the use of successive fixed-term contracts. To do so, states can determine "objective reasons" that justify renewal of such...