The aim of the article is to analyze the role played by a fixed-term employment contract in the civil service. Due to the lack of understanding of the role of a fixedterm employment contract, it occurs to enter into an employment relationship with civil service employees on a basis other than those provided for by law, i.e. concluding a fixed-term employment contract in a situation where an employment contract for an indefinite period should be concluded. This article, through the analysis of the provisions of the Act of 21 November 2008 on the civil service regarding the conclusion of an employment contract and an axiological analysis of employment in the civil service, in particular in the light of Article 153 para. 1 of the Polish Constitution, arranges the existing state of affairs by delimiting the situation in which a fixed-term employment contract may be used as the basis for establishing an employment relationship in the civil service. Moreover, according to the Author, concluding contracts for employment in the civil service is subject to the rules of competence, the breach of which results in the possibility of submitting an action for establishing the existence of an employment relationship by a civil service employee.