can they do this ?

bluedaz1973pool

hi i have been workin for manchester councill doing a 2 hour job in the afternoon for around 1 1/2 to 2 years on a temp basis now they are saying they are going to advertise my job in the paper can they do this i have heared that after so long of doing i should have first refusal on it thanks in advandce ps i also work for them in the morning for 6 hours doing a diffrent job (same place though)

wolfehouse

i work for a local council as a professional and people filling temporary jobs have to apply for their own job when they decide to advertise it as permanent. (which can take ages because each job is scrutinized...)

some people get a bit cocky and feel like the job should be thiers automatically, but you have to do the interview seriously as this is wrong and it's an open competition.

also these days the criteria and judging of interviews are taken very seriously in order to avoid any bother with tribunals later. On the plus side you'll have the advantage of experience in your favour.

jobbingmusician

When you say you have been working on a temp basis, have you been working through a temp agency, or have you just had a temporary contract which has been renewed time and again?

If the former, you have no rights to the job. If the latter, you should write to HR pointing out that you have been employed in the post for all this time, and should therefore have the right to be treated as a permanent employee as you have well over a year's service. (You accrue full employment rights after a year in the job).

LittleVoice

jobbingmusician wrote: »

When you say you have been working on a temp basis, have you been working through a temp agency, or have you just had a temporary contract which has been renewed time and again?

If the former, you have no rights to the job. If the latter, you should write to HR pointing out that you have been employed in the post for all this time, and should therefore have the right to be treated as a permanent employee as you have well over a year's service. (You accrue full employment rights after a year in the job).

Sorry, I think it's four years, not one.

cazziebo

I think it's now one year for all workers - you can no longer discriminate between temp/fixed term/permanent. So in terms of disciplinaries, grievances etc you should be treated the same as a permie. However, as it's fixed term then you unfortunately don't automatically get awarded the permanent contract.

It's often practice in the public sector to advertise vacancies even if in the interim they have been filled on a fixed term basis - I've heard it's compulsory in some councils, even when the current job holder is doing an excellent job. In private sector, you wouldn't usually go through an expensive recruitment campaign when you have a perfectly good candidate in position.

But as wolfehouse says, you have the benefit of experience that other applicants won't have, so you are in a very strong position

good luck!

LittleVoice

Yes - I was only referring to the permanent nature of the employment when quoting the four years, not to other employment rights.

impecunious

As everyone points out, YES they can do it and also they must do it for legal reasons as already stated. What you should be concerned about is the question of has your line manager invited you to apply? It may well be the case that they just want to give you the job permanately and the council has to open the interview to everyone to be able to do so..

ohreally

jobbingmusician wrote: »

you should write to HR pointing out that you have been employed in the post for all this time, and should therefore have the right to

My employer has people in temporary posts for many years (20 years are not unheard off). Due to a lack of understanding this has been a bone of contention in the psat.

ewloe

This reminds me of when I was doing a volunteer job about 8 years ago, the charity that I was working for got some funding to employ someone to do what I was doing for free, I applied for the job but it went to someone else, the experience did not help me then.