Is the employment contract necessarily written?

The following employment contracts must be concluded in writing:

• Fixed term contract (fixed term contract)
• Part-time contract of indefinite duration (CDI)
• Temporary employment contract
• Intermittent employment contract
• Apprenticeship contract
• Professionalization contract
• Single Insertion Contract (CUI)
• Contracts concluded with a grouping of employers
• Contract of employment in salary portage for a fixed or indefinite period

If the contract is not written when it should be, the employee is presumed to be in full-time CDI.

The requalification of the contract (i.e. its conversion into a full-time CDI) may be initiated by the labor council (CPH) at the request of the employee.

If the employer did not write when it should have, it could be fined €1,500 for a part-time or intermittent contract.

The employer also faces a fine of €3,750 (€7,500 in the case of a repeat offense) if he uses the CDD or temporary work without a written contract.

Generally, a written form is not required for a full-time DTA, but a collective agreement may provide for a written form.

In the absence of a mandatory written statement, the employer must, however, provide the employee with a copy of the pre-employment declaration (PED).

In practice, and in particular to prevent any conflict, it is always preferable to sign a contract.