How Long Can An Employer Keep Me On A Temporary Contract?

On 1 October 2002 the Fixed- Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations came into force. They implement a 1999 European Union Directive aimed at controlling the misuse of fixed-term contracts.

Fixed-term employees now have the right not to be treated less favourably or suffer any other detriment in comparison with a permanent employee in pay and other conditions, unless the employer can objectively justify it.

• The Regulations only cover those who legally qualify as employees, not the wider legal definition of worker. So, some temporary workers may be excluded. Agency workers are also excluded.
• The Regulations say that where an employee has been employed on a contract, or a series of contracts without gaps, for four years or more ,any further extension will automatically make the contract permanent, unless the employer can objectively justify the extension. The start date for this provision is 10 July 2002, so any time on a contract or contracts before this does not count.
• Employers are required to inform fixed-term employees of permanent vacancies.
• Redundancy Waiver Clauses, which allow an employee to sign away rights to a redundancy payment at the end of the fixed-term contract are abolished for all contracts signed on or after 1 October 2002. However, Redundancy Waiver Clauses signed before this date will still be valid.