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A European Court of Justice (ECJ) case challenged the legality of Spanish legislation that permits the renewal of fixed-term contracts to cover permanent staff needs. Lisa Hodgson, employment senior associate at DLA Piper, explains.Fixed-term contracts
How to employ an individual on a fixed-term contract At what point does a series of successive fixed-term contracts become permanent? Fixed-term contracts: employment law manualFacts
Ms Maria Elena Pérez Lόpez, a Spanish national, was employed as a nurse at the University Hospital of Madrid on a fixed term-contract from 5 February 2009 to 31 July 2009. The reason for her appointment was to provide "certain services of a temporary, auxiliary or extraordinary nature". Ms Lόpez's employment was subsequently renewed seven times under identical contracts of three, six or nine months' duration. As a result, she was employed without interruption between 5 February 2009 and 31 March 2013. On 28 January 2013, Spain's Regional Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance of Madrid issued an order imposing the termination of the employment relationships of occasional staff at the end of the appointment period, including where the individual was subsequently reappointed. Shortly before Ms Lόpez's contract expired, she was informed she would be reappointed, but that her employment relationship would cease. She brought an appeal against this decision, arguing that:- her successive appointments were not intended to meet a temporary, auxiliary or extraordinary need;
- the Spanish legislation infring
