Ending a fixed-term contract early, by country
A fixed-term contract normally runs to its end date, and these six statutes decide who may break it before then. Germany and the Netherlands allow early ordinary termination only if the contract or a collective agreement provides for it; France, Austria and Japan allow it only for serious or important reasons. France and the Netherlands put a number on the cost of wrongful early termination: pay for the rest of the term, with a Dutch court able to reduce it to no less than three months.
| Country | Early termination allowed | Notice | Compensation for wrongful early end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | By either side for important reasons | None required | Damages for non-performance if the employee leaves early without an important reason |
| Germany | Ordinary termination only if the contract or applicable collective agreement provides for it | 6 months, for an employee after 5 years on a contract of over 5 years or for life | |
| France | By agreement of the parties, or for serious misconduct, force majeure or medical inaptitude; the employee may also leave to take a permanent job | Employee leaving for a permanent job: 1 day per week of contract, at most 2 weeks, unless the parties agree otherwise | Employer at fault: damages of at least the pay to the end of the term. Employee at fault: damages for the employer’s loss |
| Japan | Employer may dismiss during the term only for unavoidable reasons | ||
| Netherlands | Only if both parties agreed the right in writing; either party may end it at once for an urgent reason | None for an urgent reason (the notice must be given at once) | Wrongful early notice on a contract that cannot be ended early: pay for the rest of the term, reducible by the court to no less than 3 months’ pay |
| Norway | The Act’s ordinary rules on ending employment apply during the contract period |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- ABGB §§ 1162 and 1162a
- Section 1162a also covers an employee dismissed early for fault. The text quoted states the consequence for the employee’s wrongful exit; it does not state a figure for an employer’s wrongful early termination.
vor Ablauf dieser Zeit, sonst aber ohne Einhaltung einer Kündigungsfrist von jedem Teile aus wichtigen Gründen gelöst werden Wenn der Dienstnehmer ohne wichtigen Grund vorzeitig austritt, kann der Dienstgeber entweder dessen Wiedereintritt zur Dienstleistung nebst Schadenersatz oder Schadenersatz wegen Nichterfüllung des Vertrages verlangen. Germany
- Rule
- TzBfG § 15 (4) and (5)
- The 5-year employee exit applies to contracts for a person’s lifetime or longer than five years. The text quoted says nothing on compensation for early termination, and termination for cause is outside the sections quoted.
Ein befristetes Arbeitsverhältnis unterliegt nur dann der ordentlichen Kündigung, wenn dies einzelvertraglich oder im anwendbaren Tarifvertrag vereinbart ist.kann es von dem Arbeitnehmer nach Ablauf von fünf Jahren gekündigt werden. Die Kündigungsfrist beträgt sechs Monate. France
- Rule
- Code du travail L1243-1 to L1243-4
- A contract concluded under the 6° case of L1242-2 can also be ended by either party for a genuine and serious reason after 18 months and on each anniversary. The employer’s damages are in addition to the end-of-contract indemnity of L1243-8.
Sauf accord des parties, le contrat de travail à durée déterminée ne peut être rompu avant l'échéance du terme qu'en cas de faute grave, de force majeure ou d'inaptitude constatée par le médecin du travail. le contrat de travail à durée déterminée peut être rompu avant l'échéance du terme à l'initiative du salarié, lorsque celui-ci justifie de la conclusion d'un contrat à durée indéterminéeLe préavis ne peut excéder deux semaines. ouvre droit pour l'employeur à des dommages et intérêts correspondant au préjudice subi ouvre droit pour le salarié à des dommages et intérêts d'un montant au moins égal aux rémunérations qu'il aurait perçues jusqu'au terme du contrat Japan
- Rule
- 労働契約法 第17条
- The section restricts dismissal by the employer. The quoted text states no notice period and no compensation figure, and says nothing about the worker leaving early.
やむを得ない事由がある場合でなければ、その契約期間が満了するまでの間において、労働者を解雇することができない Netherlands
- Rule
- BW 7 arts. 667 (3) and 677
- A party that gave the other an urgent reason through intent or fault owes compensation if the other ends the contract. The employee can ask the court to annul a wrongful notice.
kan slechts tussentijds worden opgezegd indien voor ieder der partijen dat recht schriftelijk is overeengekomen Ieder der partijen is bevoegd de arbeidsovereenkomst onverwijld op te zeggen om een dringende redenis aan de wederpartij een vergoeding verschuldigd gelijk aan het bedrag van het in geld vastgestelde loon over de termijn dat de arbeidsovereenkomst geduurd zou hebben indien deze van rechtswege zou zijn geëindigdmaar tot niet minder dan het in geld vastgestelde loon voor drie maanden Norway
- Rule
- Arbeidsmiljøloven § 14-9 (6)
- The statute says only that the Act’s termination rules apply during the agreed period; the notice and compensation rules sit in other sections not summarised here.
I avtaleperioden gjelder lovens regler om opphør av arbeidsforhold. Countries not in this table yet
Spain and Sweden are left out because the sections found state only how such a contract ends at its term, not early termination. Australia and Canada are left out because no matching rule was found in the ingested texts. The United States (federal law) and the United Kingdom are not covered by the ingested acts.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Ending a fixed-term contract early, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/ending-fixed-term-early (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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