Facts
The complainant, [X.] , had been working as a lecturer at the Bündner Frauenschule since 1989. In 2003, the school was integrated into the Bildungszentrum Gesundheit und Soziales (GamblA). From then on, the complainant received annual fixed-term employment contracts. In 2004, he concluded a public-law employment contract as head of department and lecturer, which ran from August 1, 2004, to July 31, 2005. After the contract expired, the complainant was not re-employed. He claimed that he was in an unlimited employment relationship and was entitled to salary payment and pension benefits.
The Administrative Court of the Canton of Graubünden dismissed the complaint, considering the complainant's fixed-term employment as permissible. The complainant filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Court.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the complainant's fixed-term employment was permissible. It found that the cantonal personnel ordinance makes the ordinary termination of the public-law employment relationship of auxiliary staff dependent on whether it is objectively justified. The court found that the annual allocation of hours with the complainant had repeatedly concluded new, individually fixed-term employment contracts for each school year.
The court qualified these contracts as so-called chain employment contracts, which are generally permissible under Swiss law, even for employees with public-law contracts. It found that an abuse of law is not to be assumed if there is an objective reason for concluding several consecutive fixed-term contracts and this unusual contract structure does not aim to circumvent the application of the…