When a CDD ends, it is not possible to use a new CDD on the same workstation before the expiry of a period, called the waiting period.
Contracts for which the waiting period does not exist
There is no waiting period to be observed in the following 5 cases:
- In the event of replacement of an absent employee;
- In the event of a fixed-term contract concluded within the framework of urgent work necessary for security reasons;
- In the case of seasonal contracts or contracts of use;
- In the case of fixed-term contracts concluded within the framework of the employment protection policy (assisted contracts);
- In the event of early termination of the CDD at the initiative of the employee.
Illustration of the early termination of the contract at the initiative of the employee:
Employee A terminates his CDD contract after it has been renewed. The company can call on a new employee B without observing a waiting period.
It is indeed not the employer who is at the origin of the rupture and it is logical that he does not bear the consequences.
Calculation of the waiting period
The countdown of the waiting period is done in open days (the days of activity of the company).
The waiting period is calculated in 2 different ways depending on depending on the duration of the contract.
The CDD contract has a duration of at least 14 days
The waiting period is then: 1/3 of the duration of the CDD (renewal included).
Example :
2 CDD contracts were concluded for employee A (including renewal) and the cumulative duration of these contracts is 9 weeks. The company works from Monday to Friday inclusive.
Calculation of the waiting period: duration of the contract / 3 = 3 weeks, i.e. 15 working days;
The CDD contract has a duration of less than 14 days
The waiting period is then: 1/2 of the duration of the CDD (renewal included).
Example :
2 CDD contracts have been concluded for employee B (renewal included) and the duration of these contracts is 12 days. The company works from Monday to Friday inclusive.
Calculation of the waiting period: duration of the contract / 2 = 6 days or 1 week and 1 day.
Waiting period: some special cases
Here are some special cases:
- of course, there are always special rules on waiting periods;
- the deadline depends on the position offered and possibly on whether or not to use the same employee.
Waiting periods in the event of succession of CDD contracts | |
For the same workstation | |
With the same employee | Replacement fixed-term contract: no deficiency; Temporary increase in activity: compliance with the waiting period (1/3 or ½ depending on contract duration); |
With another employee | Replacement fixed-term contract: no deficiency; Renewal refusal of another employee: no deficiency; For a new reason: compliance with the waiting period (1/3 or ½ depending on contract duration); |
For a different workstation | |
With the same employee | Replacement fixed-term contract: no deficiency; Pending entry into service of an employee recruited on a permanent contract: a “certain period”; Pending entry into service of an employee recruited on a permanent contract: a “certain period”; |
With another employee | No waiting period, the 2 positions and the 2 contracts are totally independent; |
When we are talking about a different workstation with the same employee, the possible waiting period is not provided for by law. This is the reason why we then speak of a “certain period”.
Employers must then, in order to avoid a possible reclassification of the contract as a permanent contract (open-ended contract), respect a deadline that is not too short. Prudence would be to calculate a waiting period according to the duration of the contract initially concluded on another position.
Content updated on 02/07/2012