My employer cancelled or changed my contract: now what?

Your employer cannot "cancel" your contract and keep you working as if nothing happened. If you keep working, the contract still exists. And you do not have to sign a new contract with lower pay or a worse job title.

Ana's example

Ana started working at a café on 1 September, with a written contract for a base salary of €1,000 as a waitress. On 30 September, the owner tells her "the contract is void" and that he will give her another one later. Ana keeps going to work every day.

In October, the new contract arrives: €900 and the job title "assistant". Ana does not sign.

What the law says:

1. Ana's contract still exists. She works the café's hours, with the café's equipment, and gets paid every month. The contract needs no special form (Art. 110) and the law presumes it is an employment contract (Art. 12).
2. Her existing conditions still apply. The company cannot reduce her pay (Art. 129(1)(d)) or move her to a lower category without her agreement and the other conditions in Art. 119. And the law forbids ending a contract and rehiring the worker, even with their agreement, to take away rights that come from seniority (Art. 129(1)(j)).
3. If they pay her €900, the €100 missing each month is a debt, with late-payment interest (Art. 323(2)).

[Depends on the case:] if the first contract was fixed-term and the company "cancelled" it without giving another one in writing, the fixed term loses its written basis. The law says that if it was not put in writing, or the parties' identification or signatures are missing, the contract is treated as permanent (Art. 147(1)(c)). See the guide on the permanent contract.

"Cancelling" a contract is not a legal way to end it

The employer can only end the contract through the routes the law provides. The most common:

• Expiry of a fixed-term contract, with written notice on time. See non-renewal of a fixed-term contract.
• Termination during the probation period. The employer must give 7 days' notice if the probation period has lasted more than 60 days, and 30 days if it has lasted more than 120 (Art. 114(2) and (3)).
• Dismissal with a procedure: just cause, job elimination, collective redundancy or inadaptation.

If they told you "the contract is over, don't come back", without any of these routes, that is a dismissal without a procedure. It is unlawful (Art. 381(c)). If the court confirms it, the company pays for the damage and the wages you lost from the dismissal until the final decision (Arts. 389(1)(a) and 390(1)). It also takes you back or, if you prefer, pays compensation of 15 to 45 days of base pay and seniority payments for each full year or part year of seniority, never less than 3 months (Arts. 389(1)(b) and 391).

The deadline is short. If the decision was given to you in writing, you have 60 days to oppose it in court, counted from when you received it or from the date the contract ends, if later (Art. 387(2)). If you file after 30 days, you lose the wages for the period between the dismissal and 30 days before you filed (Art. 390(2)(b)).

[Common interpretation:] if you were sent away only by word of mouth, with no paper, the 60-day form does not apply: the Labour Procedure Code only provides it for a dismissal notified in writing (Art. 98-C(1)). But do not let time pass. Ask the company in writing to confirm what it told you and act straight away. See the checklist in can my employer fire me like this?.

The new contract has worse pay or a worse job title

Refusing to sign is your right. The contract you already have still applies.

[Common interpretation:] even with your signature, an agreement to cut your pay outside the cases set by law is highly questionable. The law forbids the cut and says nothing about agreement. But do not sign under pressure, so you do not have to argue about it later.

If the new document has a mistake (pay or job title different from what was agreed), reply in writing: "I am not signing because the pay and the job title do not match what was agreed." Ask for it to be corrected.

And what if you never got anything in writing? The employer must give you the essential conditions in writing: duties, pay, hours and probation period by the 7th day, the rest within 1 month (Arts. 106 and 107). See transparent working conditions.

You are being paid less than agreed

Every euro missing is a debt the company owes you, with late-payment interest (Art. 323(2)). To prove what was agreed, use:

• the old contract, even if "cancelled";
• your payslips;
• emails and messages with the agreed pay;
• the written information on your working conditions.

You have up to one year from the day after the contract ends to recover the differences (Art. 337(1)).

If the cut is serious, you can resign with just cause. The law lists the culpable breach of the worker's guarantees as just cause (Art. 394(2)(b)), and not having your pay reduced is one of those guarantees (Art. 129(1)(d)). You give notice in writing, with the facts, within 30 days of learning of them (Art. 395(1)). Compensation is 15 to 45 days of base pay and seniority payments per full year of seniority, proportional for part of a year, and never less than 3 months (Art. 396(1) and (2)). First, read how to prove just cause.

What to do, step by step

1. Keep going to work. Do not stop showing up. React in writing, not with absences.
2. Do not sign the new contract if it has worse or wrong conditions.
3. Write to the company by email: ask it to confirm your conditions (pay, job category, duties) and the reason for the "cancellation".
4. Keep evidence: the old contract, payslips, messages, rotas, names of colleagues.
5. Demand the differences in writing, with a deadline. The late wages guide explains the formal demand.
6. File a complaint with the ACT if the company does not fix it. It is free. See how to file an ACT complaint.
7. If they send you away, act straight away. With a written decision you have 60 days to oppose it in court (Art. 387(2)), and ideally you file within the first 30 (Art. 390(2)(b)). See fired: what to do first.

Want to check your payslip adds up? Use the net salary calculator. For the limits on pay cuts, see can my employer reduce my salary?.

For employers: you cannot void a contract in force and keep the worker on. To change pay or job category, only in the cases set by law (Arts. 119 and 129), and always in writing by the date the change takes effect (Art. 109). Ending a contract and rehiring the worker to take away seniority rights is forbidden, even with the worker's agreement (Art. 129(1)(j)). Dismissing without a procedure is an unlawful dismissal (Art. 381(c)).

This guide explains the law in plain language and does not replace legal advice for complex or disputed cases.