Temporary contracts can typically not be contested in labour courts. Use of temporary contracts has become more widespread has particularly affected the position of young people, as fixed-term employment contracts are common among the young Consequently the use of temporary contracts has become more general with these labour market reforms, but there are large cross-country differences.
In Spain the proportion of temporary workers of all workers was about 30% before the crisis (in 2007), in Portugal it was 22% and in France 15%. These differences are in part explained by differences in severance payments. For example, severance payments for permanent workers in Spain are much higher, and the regulations concerning the use of temporary contracts much laxer than in France.