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Fixed-Term Contracts Policy

Principles

1. This Policy ensures the University’s compliance with The Regulations on Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment), which came into force in the UK on 1 October 2002.

2. Due to the nature of our work, there will be a continuing need to employ staff on fixed-term contracts (for specific projects and those on internal secondments and acting-up arrangements). This policy specifies the “Justifiable Objective Reasons” that permit the use of fixed-term contracts. The specific reason will need to be highlighted by any manager wishing to establish such a contract. However, fixed-term contracts should not be used simply to test the individual’s skills in the workplace before deciding whether to offer a permanent contract.

3. The University recognises the valuable role performed by staff on fixed-term contracts and it will not allow less favourable treatment of these staff. The recruitment process for fixed-term staff will be the same as that used for permanent staff. They will also be provided with the same benefits. This includes comparable terms and conditions of employment, access to induction, training, redeployment and redundancy rights.

4. The University also adheres to the principles and spirit of the Concordat and the Research Careers Initiative in the employment of Research staff.

5. The University will allow fixed-term contracts to be extended, and will ensure that where such requests extend these staff beyond 4 years of continuous service, that this is recognised and they are converted onto permanent contracts of employment with the University.

6. The University will also adopt a pro-active approach to managing the conclusion of fixed-term contracts, ensuring that staff are fully aware of decisions regarding their future and given the opportunity to be considered for other roles within the University. It will also ensure that the costs associated with the termination of fixed-term contracts are kept to a minimum.

7. Fixed-term contract staff will continue to be subject to the Redeployment and Pay Protection Policy and the Compulsory Redundancy Policies

8. Following the adoption of this Policy, mandatory training will be provided for all CMC members and this will be cascaded down to all staff with a responsibility for managing staff on fixed-term contracts.

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Procedure

1. Introduction

This policy ensures the University’s compliance with The Regulations on Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment), which came into force in the UK on 1 October 2002.

2. Approval for New Fixed-Term Contracts

New fixed-term contracts might be required for a number of reasons, such as through the creation/expansion of new projects, temporary cover or resignation/retirements/dismissal of a previous post holder. Generally permanent opportunities are encouraged as the norm, however if there is a “transparent, necessary and objective” reason (see section 3) why a fixed-term contract is the preferred option, this must be specified on the request for the new role.

All requests for new fixed-term contracts should be made to Monitoring Committee, using the Monitoring Form. Monitoring Committee approval is required before the recruitment process can commence and any appointment is made.

3. Justifiable Objective Reasons

Fixed-term contracts will only be justified if there are objective grounds which cover one or more of the following, Line Managers will be asked to identify which of the following apply:

the post requires specialist expertise or recent experience not already available within the University in the short term;

to cover staff absence as appropriate (e.g. parental, maternity and adoption leave, long term sickness, sabbatical leave or secondment);

the contract is to provide a secondment or career development opportunity (and the individual holds a substantive, permanent contract);

input from specialist practioners; where there is no reasonable foreseeable prospect of short-term funding

(i.e. less than 4 years) being either renewed or other external or internal funding available or becoming available. Where the short-term funding has already been renewed, continued use of the fixed-term contract would need to be justified by objective reasons;

where there are statutory limitations on the period of employment (e.g. visa/work permit) or contractual stipulations attached to the funding (e.g. some European funding is only available to support staff on fixed-term contracts).

If Managers have any other reason, this should be discussed with Human Resources, before the Monitoring request is submitted.


4. Recruitment and Selection

The University’s Appointments Procedure will be followed for all fixed-term appointments.

All vacancies (except in the case of redeployment, restructure & very short contracts [6 months or less]) are advertised on the University website.

Fixed-term contracts will now state the reason they are fixed-term together with details of the specific project and funding arrangements in order to be clearly identifiable.

If an individual who holds a fixed-term contract is required to move to a different project during their employment, or work between projects, the Manager must advise Human Resources who will send the individual a variation to contract letter.

All staff have the same opportunity to apply for University vacancies.

5. Training and Career Development

Individuals on fixed-term contracts have the same right of access to training and University vacancies as permanent staff. Staff should discuss their training and development needs with their Manager as part of their PDR.

6. Extensions to Fixed-Term Contracts

The status of all fixed-term contracts will be reviewed by Human Resources with the Line Manager seven months before an individual’s contract is due to end. (see section 9 for the procedure to be followed).

If the intention is that the contract is to be extended; Managers are now required to review the status of the contract and to convert it to a permanent contract wherever possible, or objectively justify the extension as a fixed-term contract.

Managers should note that:

the University encourages permanent contracts as the norm; employment legislation dictates that the overall duration of a series of fixed

term contracts should be no more than 4 continuous years.

All requests to extend existing fixed-term contracts should be made to Monitoring Committee, using the Monitoring Form. Monitoring Committee approval is required before any extension to contract is made.

7. Continuous Successive Fixed-Term Contracts (For Contracts of 12 Months or Longer)

After 4 years of fixed-term contracts (or a contract which lasts 4 years) the contract thereafter is regarded as permanent (unless there is a justifiable objective reason for it continuing as a fixed term contract). This Regulation


applies to all fixed-term contracts issued from 10 July 2002. Prior service is not recognised.

If an employee believes that they have reached four years continuous service they can write to their Line Manager in the first instance requesting written confirmation that the contract is to be regarded as permanent. The Line Manager should liaise with Human Resources and must produce a statement confirming the permanent status within 21 days of the request. If the employee is still fixed-term, the reason for this must be explained in writing to the member of staff.

An employee may be continuously employed even where there is a gap between successive contracts that will vary depending on circumstances. Examples of continuity of service can include the following:

a new contract is agreed before the previous one has expired, the employee must start the new contract within four weeks of the end date of the old contract;

a new contract is not agreed to before the first one expires, but the employee begins within one week of the previous one expiring;

there is no work for the employee during the gap between the two contracts (e.g. between semesters);

the fixed term employee is on maternity leave or incapable of work due to sickness.

If a contract is to be extended and the individual chooses not to accept the extension, the University will consider this a resignation and the individual will be required to confirm this in writing. In such cases the individual will not be entitled to any redundancy payments. It may then be necessary to advertise for a replacement through the normal Recruitment Policy.

8. Changing a Contract from Fixed-Term to Permanent

Making the change from fixed-term to permanent contracts does not affect the funding situation, nor does it negatively affect job security

Converting a fixed-term contract could result in increased motivation, commitment and long term career planning. Additionally, the University benefits from the retention of skills.

However there needs to be a “reasonably foreseeable prospect” of long-term funding before a decision is made as this action will not create nor secure funding. Additionally, Managers will need to ensure that before the conversion can be made, the individual has been through a competitive selection process upon appointment and that there are no other fixed-term staff who could lay claim to the permanent role. It is recommended that Managers review the situation in their School/Department in conjunction with their Human Resources Manager and seek to make conversions wherever possible.

Schools/Departments are advised to consider pooling income and bridging funds in order to minimise the need for fixed-term contracts.


All requests for conversion from a fixed-term to a permanent contract should be made on a Monitoring Form, for approval to Monitoring Committee.

Following Monitoring approval, Human Resources will issue a permanent variation of contract to the member of staff.

9. Procedure for Terminating a Fixed-Term Contract of 12 Month or Longer

Where one or more funding streams cease, action will need to be taken to commence the termination of the staff working in a School/Department. If the work undertaken by an employee is similar to other colleagues in the area, and if they are not named on a project or contracted to the project, all staff in that area (permanent and fixed-term staff) will be considered in the pool for redundancy. If this is the case, Managers must discuss the circumstances with their Human Resources Manager. In such cases the Compulsory Redundancy and Redeployment and Pay Protection Policies will be implemented.

Where there is a possibility that a fixed-term contract may be terminated on the end date (or at least 7 months before the end date of the contract) the following process must be followed. (Please see the Flow Chart of this procedure in Appendix 1).

9.1. 7 months before the end of the contract – Human Resources will issue an e-mail to the Manager, seeking confirmation on whether the contract is to be:-

made permanent be extended terminated “unable to determine at present”

Managers must respond to this e-mail within 5 working days (as any delays could result in costs to the University).

9.1.1. If the fixed-term contract is to be made permanent – see section 8. The Manager should obtain approval from Monitoring before arranging to meet the individual to inform them of the decision. Staff can be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague to this meeting.

9.1.2. If the fixed-term contract is to be extended, the Manager will need to consider, in advance of the meeting, if it can be converted to permanent status or objectively justify the extension of the fixed term contract – see section 6. Following approval, the Manager should arrange to meet the individual to inform them of the decision. Staff can be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague to this meeting.

9.1.3. If the contract is to be terminated, or “unable to determine at present”, at least 6 months before the end of the contract the Manager and their Human Resources Manager, should arrange to meet the individual, to inform them of the decision. Staff can


be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague to this meeting.

At this meeting, the Manager must explain the position i.e. what likelihood, if any, there is that there will be an extension to the contract or some timescales indicating when this will be confirmed. The Manager should also state that this is the start of the six months consultation period and that there will be a further review meeting in 3 months time where they will discuss redeployment and provide redundancy figures, if applicable.

The Human Resources Manager will explain the process of redeployment, including skills audit and give them a calculation of any redundancy payment (if applicable) which would be payable and give them the required period of notice.

After the meeting, Human Resources must write to the individual outlining the key points and issue an “At Risk” letter to the member of staff.

Human Resources will advise the trade unions of every case where a fixed-term contract is unlikely to be/will not be extended.

9.2. 3 months before the end of the contract, the Manager and their Human Resources Manager should arrange to meet the individual for a further meeting. Staff can be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague to this meeting.

At the meeting, the Manager should update the individual regarding the situation. If the contract is to be terminated, the Manager should inform the individual of this decision, advising them that they have the right of appeal against the decision.

After the meeting, Human Resources should write to the individual outlining the key points and notifying the member of staff that there will be a further review 1 month before the end of the contract.

During the 6 months consultation period, if at any time, a decision is made to extend the contract or convert it to permanent status (assuming the relevant criteria are satisfied), the Manager should arrange to meet the individual (who can be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague) to inform them of the decision. During this period the Redeployment Policy will be applied to all staff whose contracts will not be extended.

9.3. 1 month before the end of the contract – if the contract is to be terminated on the end date, the Manager should arrange to meet the individual, with their Human Resources Manager for a final meeting. Staff can be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague to this meeting.


At the meeting, the Manager must update the individual on the situation: confirming that the contract will not be extended, that they have not secured an alternative post through redeployment and therefore their employment with the University will cease at the end of the contract. The Human Resources representative should discuss leaving procedures (including confirmation of the redundancy payment, other payments due and issue of P45) and details of the appeals process if the individual wishes to contest the decision.

After the meeting, Human Resources should write to the individual outlining the key points of the meeting and the procedure for appeal.

9.4. Appeals – If the employee wishes to appeal, this should be in writing and forwarded to the University Secretary’s Department marked for the attention of the Legal Services Manager. The appeal meeting should ideally take place before the contract ends. If the appeal process is upheld, the individual’s employment will have no break in service.

In the event that it is not possible to hold the appeal hearing before the contract ends and the appeal is upheld, the individual’s employment will be reinstated from the date of the termination of the contract.

Each stage of the proceedings should be undertaken without reasonable delay. The timing and location of the meetings must be reasonable (meetings should take place in a private office/meeting room). The employee must take all reasonable steps to attend the meetings and the meetings must be conducted in a manner that enables both sides to explain their case.

10. Redeployment

The Redeployment and Pay Protection Policy will be applicable to all staff.

11. Redundancy Payments

All staff who have 2 years continuous service are entitled to a statutory redundancy payment. Further details of the calculation of payments can be found in the Compulsory Redundancy Procedure.

12. Employees on Contracts Expected to last less than 12 Months

Managers of staff on contracts expected to last less than 12 months, should hold a meeting with each member of staff at least 1 month before the end of the contract to inform them that the contract will be extended/terminated. The format of this meeting will be the same as that adopted for other fixed-term contract staff 1 month before the end of their contracts. Those whose contracts are terminating will have the opportunity to apply for other roles at the University.

Those staff who have continuous service of over 12 months at the University should be covered by the process shown in section 9. Managers should contact


Human Resources to check whether their employee has any continuous service with the University prior to commencing in their current post.

13. Employees on Tasks Expected to last Three Months or Less (i.e. Casual Contracts)

Managers are not required to give these staff any further formal notice from that in their appointment letter that the contract is ending on the stated end date. In the unlikely event that their contract is to be terminated prior to the stated end date, if the individual has at least one month of service, they should be given at least one week’s notice that the contract is to be terminated.

14. Staff Employed on Professional Training Contracts

The following staff are exempted from the procedure as their purpose is to provide staff and/or students with specific development. The post may continue after the end date, however the individuals will have achieved their development/qualification and therefore are unable to remain in post. The outgoing postholder is replaced by a new postholder, so there is no redundancy situation. However it is advisable that Managers meet with the individuals at least 1 month before the end date to talk through the ending the contract, thank them for their contribution and wish them well for the future.

Staff in this category are:-

Knowledge Transfer Associates Researcher Consultants Student Workers/Explainers Student Placements

15. Review of the Policy

This policy will be regularly reviewed to identify any changes that need to be made following full operation of the policy.


Appendix 1Flow Chart of Process to be Followed


Document Control : Fixed Term Contracts Policy

Due for review by:

Approved by: EPC on 8 March 2007

Author: Human Resources Manager (AB)/Director of Human Resources

Department: Human Resources Department


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