How is a fixed-term employee defined?
Are employees employed on a contract lasting less than three months still denied certain rights?
Can an employee be employed indefinitely on fixed-term contracts?
At what point does an employee who has been employed on a series of successive fixed-term contracts become a permanent employee?
Can an employer treat fixed-term employees less favourably than it treats permanent employees?
In ensuring no less favourable treatment between fixed-term and comparable permanent employees can an employer balance a less favourable condition against a more favourable one?
The Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment)
Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2034) state that fixed-term employees must not be
treated less favourably, on grounds of their fixed-term status, than comparable
permanent employees. Less favourable treatment in relation to particular
contractual terms will be justified if the terms of a fixed-term employee's
contract taken as a whole are at least as favourable as those of a comparable
permanent employee's contract of employment. An employer will therefore be able
to balance a less favourable term against a more favourable one, provided that
it ensures that the fixed-termer's overall package is not less favourable than
that of the permanent employee. For example, a fixed-term employee might be
entitled to fewer days' holiday than the comparable permanent employee, but
receive the value of this extra holiday entitlement as increased
salary.
XpertHR provides answers to more than 1,000 FAQs. But that's not all...
Request a demo today to find out how XpertHR can benefit your organisation
If a fixed-term position becomes permanent, should the current post-holder be offered the permanent position, or should the position be advertised first?
Can an employer require a fixed-term employee to sign a redundancy waiver?
If a redundant employee accepts alternative work for a fixed term, what are his or her rights when that fixed term comes to an end?
Can a person on a fixed-term contract make any claims on the employer if the contract is terminated?
Can an employee claim unfair dismissal where a contract that was entered into for the completion of a specific task comes to an end?
Will the dismissal of an employee who is taken on temporarily to fill in for a pregnant woman be fair?
Given that the expiry of a fixed-term contract constitutes dismissal, what will usually be a fair reason for dismissal?
Where an individual has been employed on a 12-month fixed-term contract to cover maternity leave, can the employer terminate the contract early if the woman on maternity leave decides to return early?
If a contract can be terminated by notice can it be a fixed-term contract?
Are employees on fixed-term contracts entitled to statutory notice of their dismissal?
When a fixed-term employee is offered a permanent contract following on immediately from the fixed-term period, when does his or her period of continuous service start?
Where a fixed-term employee's contract is due to terminate while she is on maternity leave, does the employer have any obligation to re-employ her at the end of her maternity leave?
Can an employer reject an applicant for a maternity leave cover role on the basis that the applicant is herself pregnant and will not be able to work for the full cover period?
Can an underperforming employee on a fixed-term contract be dismissed before the end of the fixed term?