Temporary contract for production circumstances: updated 2026 guide

“I need to reinforce the team for two months over the Christmas campaign — which contract should I use?” It’s one of the most common questions in any SME with workload peaks. For years the answer was the contrato eventual por circunstancias de la producción (temporary contract for production circumstances), but the 2021 labour reform changed everything. If you’re searching for that contract by its old name, be careful: today it’s called something different, it has far stricter limits, and using it incorrectly can turn your worker into a permanent employee overnight. Here’s how it works in 2026.

What the production circumstances contract is

It’s a temporary contract designed to cover an occasional and unforeseeable increase in activity, or the fluctuations that — even within the company’s normal activity — create a one-off mismatch between the available workforce and the workforce required.

In plain terms: when you have a workload peak that isn’t part of your usual day-to-day (a campaign, an extraordinary order, a breakdown that sends demand soaring), you can hire someone temporarily to cover it.

The important thing to understand is that the old “contrato eventual por circunstancias de la producción” no longer exists under that name. The labour reform (Real Decreto-ley 32/2021, in force since 30 March 2022) merged the former temporary (eventual) and works-and-services contracts into a single temporary contract governed by article 15 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (the Spanish Workers’ Statute). If an adviser or an old employee still talks to you about a “contrato eventual”, they mean this arrangement, but updated.

The two types of production circumstances

The law distinguishes two situations, and it’s worth not confusing them because they have different durations:

1. Unforeseeable circumstances

This is the occasional and unforeseen rise in activity that creates a temporary staffing mismatch. For example, an unexpected order, a spike in online orders after appearing in the press, or a one-off, unplanned campaign.

2. Occasional, foreseeable situations of reduced duration

This covers the fluctuations that you can foresee but that are one-off and short-lived. The classic example is the sales or Christmas campaign in retail. The law sets a clear limit for this situation: you can only use it for a maximum of 90 days per year, and those days cannot be consecutive. Those 90 days must be planned and communicated to the workers’ representatives during the last quarter of the previous year.

How long the production circumstances contract can last

Here lies one of the most important changes compared with the old temporary contract, which could reach 12 or even 18 months through collective agreements.

The maximum duration is now six months, extendable to one year if a sectoral collective agreement provides for it. Within that maximum, a single extension is allowed, provided the total permitted duration is not exceeded.

Bear in mind, too, the anti-chaining rule: if you hire the same person with two or more temporary contracts for production circumstances that together add up to more than 18 months within a 24-month period, that person acquires the status of permanent employee. And it doesn’t only count if it’s the same role: it also applies if they are different roles but within the same company or group.

When you can and can’t use it

The reason must be stated clearly and precisely in the contract: which specific circumstance justifies it and why it is temporary. A contract with a generic or made-up reason is a contract in fraud of law, and the direct consequence is that the worker becomes permanent.

You can use it for:

An unforeseen production peak (an extraordinary order, a sudden surge in demand).
A one-off planned campaign within the limit of 90 days per year.
Covering a temporary and objective increase in workload.

You can’t use it for:

Covering a permanent vacancy or a structural need of the company. If the role is needed all year round, it’s permanent.
Replacing a specific person (that’s what the contrato de sustitución — substitution contract — is for, not the production circumstances contract).
Chaining temporary contracts to keep someone on as a “permanent temp”.
Recruitment and contracts within the public administration outside the strictly defined cases.

Watch out for the penalties: the reform tightened the regime considerably. Every temporary contract entered into in fraud of law can carry a fine for each affected worker (not a single overall fine), which makes the abuse of temporary employment very costly.

Difference from the substitution contract

This is the most frequent confusion. Before the reform there was the interinidad (stand-in) contract and the temporary one, and many companies mixed them up. Today there are only two types of temporary contract:

For production circumstances: for peaks and increases in activity. It’s the one we’ve explained.
For substitution: to replace a specific person entitled to keep their post (sick leave, leave of absence, an employee’s holidays, or to cover a vacancy during the final selection process, maximum 3 months).

Choosing the wrong type is also grounds for the contract being deemed permanent, so it’s worth being clear before signing.

Severance pay at the end of the contract

When the temporary contract for production circumstances validly comes to an end, the worker is entitled to severance pay of 12 days’ salary per year worked, pro-rated by the months or days if the contract lasts less. It’s a cost worth budgeting for from the outset, especially in campaigns involving several hires.

Best practices for your SME

Document the reason in writing and in detail. If there’s ever an inspection, the contract has to explain itself.
Keep track of the deadlines. Overshooting the six months (or the year under a collective agreement) or chaining contracts without realising is the most expensive mistake. Good holiday and absence management software, together with contract management, warns you before it’s too late.
Keep all documentation centralised. Contracts, extensions and communications to the legal representatives must be accessible and orderly. A document manager stops critical paperwork from going missing.
Check your collective agreement. It may extend the duration to one year or set specific conditions for your sector.

In summary

The “contrato eventual por circunstancias de la producción” is today the temporary contract for production circumstances under article 15 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores. It’s meant for occasional peaks and increases in activity, lasts a maximum of six months (one year under a collective agreement), requires the reason to be specified precisely, and cannot be used for permanent needs or to replace specific people. Used well, it gives you flexibility; used badly, it turns your temporary staff into permanent employees and exposes you to penalties. With clear rules and a good control tool, managing temporary employment stops being a headache.