Fixed term employment contract

About this fixed term employment contract

A fixed term contract "does what it says", expiring after the term ends. However, their use is not quite as simple, because the employer must still comply with all of the law that relates to any employee, including that for dismissal. The difference is only that the expiry of a fixed term employment contract is a “reasonable reason” to dismiss someone who might otherwise claim that the dismissal was unfair. If the term is for two years or longer, the employer must also follow the law relating to redundancy.

Nevertheless, a fixed term contract is useful when the employer requires:

• short-term cover for another employee who is temporarily unavailable, for example, on maternity leave, a sabbatical, secondment or long term sickness.
• cover for seasonal demand, for example in retail and agriculture.
• workers for a specific project, for example in the film, construction and event management industries.

The Net Lawman fixed term employment contract can be used in all these circumstances.  It is a carefully considered framework for fair and full protection of the employer and compliance with organisational requirements. It covers all legal requirements for information to be given to an employee. Use of plain English makes editing easy and allows it to be understood by all parties.

The size or business of the employer organisation is not important, nor is the position of the employee. Specifics for different jobs, such as duties, can be added easily, either within the existing text, or by reference to a job description.

In this "information age", all Net Lawman employment contracts are very strong on protection of the employer's secrets and confidential information.

This contract can be reused for subsequent fixed term employees.

When to use this employee contract

• Employ replacement or temporary staff while other staff are away;
• Employ staff for fixed term projects;
• Replace your existing contracts which may be out of date;
• For any level of employee, though most appropriate to junior and mid-level staff;
• For organisations of any type: companies, charities, trusts, partnerships, governmental organisations and others.

Contract features and contents

• Employment contract for fixed term workers complying with current law;
• All standard terms of written statement of terms and conditions of employment;
• Compliant with Organisation of Working Time Act 1997,  Organisation of Working Time (Records)(Prescribed Form and Exemptions) Regulations 2001, Sick Leave Act 2022 and the European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022;
• Strong on protection of employer's confidential information;
• Specifics for different jobs can be added easily;
• Structured so as to minimise the administrative burden of legal compliance.

The fixed term contract of employment includes the following paragraphs:

• Start and continuity;
• Job title and description;
• Training
• Place of work;
• Hours of work;
• Salary;
• Expenses;
• Leave for holidays and other reasons;
• Sickness and sick pay;
• Pension (including the new auto-enrolment pension rules – MyFutureFund);
• Other business and employment;
• No competition;
• Confidentiality;
• Intellectual property;
• Collective agreements;
• Staff handbook and company policies;
• Disciplinary and grievance procedures;
• Termination;
• Procedure after termination;
• Summary termination;
• Reconstruction or amalgamation;
• Data protection;
• Severance and invalidity.

Practicalities this employment contract covers

A contract, written or verbal is made as soon as the employee accepts a job offer. So as to minimise future misunderstandings, we recommend providing your written employment contract with the offer letter, so that the employee can return an acceptance letter with a signed copy of the contract.

The employer must give basic information to all employees within 5 days of starting a job. This is known as a “written statement of terms of employment”. This information includes names and address of both employer and employee, place of work, duration of the contract, the rate of pay and pay reference period, as well as the working hours and week, job title, probationary period etc . Other than these core terms, the employer has a legal obligation to provide the employee with the remaining terms within one month of starting a job such as an employee’s remuneration, overtime pay, entitlement to annual leave and sick leave, pension and a reasonable notice period of termination. This employment contract includes all the necessary information to act as a terms and conditions of employment so that you don’t need to provide this information separately in a letter or another document.

Other employment policies and procedures not within the terms and conditions of the employment (such as data protection) could be included in the employment contract. However, it is easier to place all procedures and policies common to all staff in an employee handbook and refer to the handbook in the employment contract. This is the approach Net Lawman recommends.