A fixed-term employment contract may not in principle be terminated before the expiry of the contractual period.
However, a fixed-term contract may be terminated before expiry of its term, either:
- by mutual agreement
- in the event of serious misconduct on the part of the employee or the employer, or
- after notice is given during the probation period.
If the employer nevertheless terminates the contract before the end of the contractual period, without being able to invoke any serious grounds relating to the employee, the employee is entitled to damages of an amount equal to the remuneration that he would have received up to the end of the contract, provided that the said amount may not exceed the remuneration corresponding to the duration of the period of notice which would have had to have been observed if the contract had been concluded without a specified contractual period (= maximum 2 months).
If the employee nevertheless terminates the contract before the end of the contractual period, without being able to invoke any serious grounds relating to the employer, the employer is entitled to damages reflecting the harm actually suffered, but not in excess of the remuneration corresponding to the length of the notice period which would have had to have been observed by the employee if the contract had been concluded without a specified contractual period (= maximum 1 month).