Fixed term contract - redundancy

pathtofreedom

OK we cross posted, so from that .gov link you only qualify as an employee if you've had it extended past 4 years not 2. So they just end the contract.

The limit on renewing a fixed-term contract

Any employee on fixed-term contracts for 4 or more years will automatically become a permanent employee, unless the employer can show there is a good business reason not to do so.
However, an employer and unions (or a staff association) may make a collective agreement that removes the automatic right to become a permanent employee in these circumstances.

pathtofreedom

I recommend you talk to acas or a union with a copy of your contract and they can help you understand what you signed up to originally. As again we can only guess as we haven't seen the contract, but fixed term means you leave when the term runs out or they give you notice depending on the terms of the contract.

southernmonkey

Thanks - I will speak to ACAS.

The relevant bit for me in the page above is....

If a contract isn't renewed
This is considered to be a dismissal, and if the employee has 2 years’ service the employer needs to show that there’s a ‘fair’ reason for not renewing the contract (eg, if they were planning to stop doing the work the contract was for).


They're not planning to stop doing the work and there are 4 people including me with the same job. Therefore if they make a position redundant (that's the only 'fair reason' - no performance issues and I've 'exceeded' in my last two performance reviews) , then it's illegal to treat me differently based solely on on my temporary contract vs their permanent contracts.

pathtofreedom

Again it all depends exactly what is in the contract you signed. Did you get it checked with anyone before you signed it to confirm you'd qualify for something like that?

southernmonkey

Thanks joxyqk

I'm confident that I will be entitled to redundancy payments as my service is over two years. I'm hoping to find something in the meantime, so hopefully I'll resign before I need any of this info!

However, the real question is, can they make me redundant? There are 4 of us doing the same job. The only difference is that I have a fixed term contract. To make a position redundant, surely they should look at all 4 people in the same position and consult all four of us?

southernmonkey

Pathtofreedom - I don't have the contract to hand, but I'm sure it's pretty standard, and it shouldn't make a difference what it says. It wouldn't override employment law - anyone employed for more than 2 years has the same redundancy rights as a permanent employee.

sangie595

pathtofreedom wrote: »

If you're on a fixed contract you're not an employee. Even if you were you need to work somewhere over 2 years before you could get any sort of money, which might only be statutory redundancy which is like ssp.

If you were employee with less than 2 years they can give notice with no reason, unless they are trying to dismiss you based on a protected reason eg disability, sex, race then you might have a case. Again though you're not an employee, and this doesn't apply. If you were it would cost you £1200 to start a tribunal, assuming they said something like we don't want women working here any more, which I doubt they'd say.

Read your contract and see what the minimum notice is they can give you within that 2 years. Just make sure what you've been told matches that. Do your cv and start looking for something else. It doesn't matter what they are doing with anyone else working there as you're not an employee your a contractor.

That would be wholly and totally wrong. People with fixed term contracts are employees and have exactly the same rights as permanent employees. And there is legislation that says exactly that. It is a good 30 years since fixed term contract employees could be treated differe3ntly from others.

And that means that it is unlawful to select someone for redundancy based solely on the fact that they have a fixe term contract - and the minute their employment goes over two years they can claim unfair dismissal if they are selected solely on those grounds. If there are equivalent posts in terms of jobs, then a selection process must be undertaken and all affected employees should go through that process. What is not clear here is whether there are other equivalent posts.

The salutary lesson for an employer is, however, never extend a fixed term contract past two years if you intend to dispense with that position, because you are taking a real risk of ending up in an employment tribunal. The salutary lesson for employees is, of course, make sure you are in a union. then you aren't having to manage the process on your own.

southernmonkey

Thanks sangie595, that confirms my understanding.

To clarify, there are equivalent posts - 3 more people with the same job as me.

As I said, I hope to find alternative employment before I need to use any of this information. I'm just preparing myself. The last thing I'd want is to drag my 3 colleagues into it unnecessarily.

sangie595

It is a bit more complicated than that - "the same job" isn't always what it sounds like, and there are get out clauses for a clever employer. But on a basic level, broadly speaking you do have the right to challenge your selection for redundancy provided the two years is up. But the two years is not based on the inclusion of contractual notice - only statutory notice is applied in such cases, which is 1 week up to two years. If I am reading the progression of your post correctly, then you are way past that two years already?

southernmonkey

Thanks - we all have the same job title and have, up to now done very similar work. There is certainly nothing that sets us apart in terms of capability to do the work.

Last week i was told unofficially that my contract would not be renewed, my objectives were all dished out between my colleagues and I'm now left with no objectives to work on for the remainder of my contract.

In this unofficial chat, I was told that the new director sees the team being more streamlined in the future. No reference to my performance / capability or anything like that.

I am - more than 2 months over.