Navigating the legal, procedural and human aspects of termination of fixed-term contracts can be overwhelming. If you are a school or trust with fixed-term contracts nearing their end, it’s crucial to make sure you are meeting your legal obligations carefully.
A fixed-term contract is a contract that is issued for a specific length of time, created for a specific task (and will come to an end when the task has been completed), or end when a specific event takes place e.g. when allocated funding linked to a pupil runs out.
Employees working under fixed-term contracts are protected by the Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002. These regulations require employers to not treat fixed-term workers less favourably than permanent employees doing the same or similar job.
The expiry of a fixed-term contract is treated as a dismissal. Employees who have been employed for two years or more when the employment ends have the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim, so employers need to show that there’s a fair reason for not renewing the contract and must follow a fair process to end it without risk.
Employees who have been employed continuously under successive fixed-term contracts for four or more years will automatically become a permanent employee, unless the employer can show there is a good business reason not to do so.
Avoid the common pitfalls of using fixed-term contracts by catching up on our crucial session for education HR professionals covering the following areas:
- Understanding fixed-term contracts
- Legal considerations and compliance
- Effective communication strategies
- Steps to end a fixed-term contract
- Avoiding common pitfalls
Our HR Consultant, Liz McLoughlin, shared tips and advice on how to issue and end fixed-term contracts in a school in our webinar here. Watch on demand.
