From 10th July 2006 any employee who has been employed on a fixed term contract might become a permanent employee. As a local business you may not be aware of these changes.

Adam Marshall, a partner at Mercers, says:

“The Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 (the “Regulations”) provide that an employee who has been employed continuously under a fixed-term contract (or a number of successive fixed-term contracts) for four or more years, starting on 10 July 2002, will become a permanent employee.

Employers can continue to employ employees on a fixed term basis if they can justify objectively the use of fixed-term contracts at the date the contract was entered into, or last renewal and avoid the permanent status. There is no guidance in the Regulations as to what may constitute an ‘objective justification’, but it seems that employers will have to show that there is a very real need to keep employees employed on a fixed term and that denying them permanent status is proportionate. Local businesses need not be too concerned as fixed term employees have similar rights to permanent employees under these Regulations.

Contact Adam Marshall on 01491 572138 for advice on these Regulations