Fixed Term Employees' Regulations

Introduction

After a series of delays the Government looks set, finally, to implement the Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations on 1 October 2002. The Regulations are intended to implement the EC Directive on fixed term work, which required member states to bring appropriate legislation into force by 10 July 2000. However, because of various issues raised during a lengthy consultation process, the implementation of the Regulations has been delayed by more than two years.

Aims of the regulations

The Regulations are intended to:

• prevent employers from treating fixed term employees less favourably than comparable permanent employees (unless this can be objectively justified);
• prevent employers from mistreating fixed term employees by the use of successive fixed term contracts; and
• improve access to permanent jobs for fixed term employees.

Who is a fixed term employee?

A fixed term employee is defined in the Regulations as being someone employed under:

• a contract for a specified term which is fixed in advance;
• a contract which terminates automatically on the completion of a particular task; or
• a contract which terminates automatically on the occurrence (or non-occurrence) of a specific event.

Agency workers are excluded, as are apprentices, people on government training schemes and students on university placements. The Regulations will only apply to employees, and not the wider class of “workers” covered by the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000.

New rights

Fixed term employees will have the right not to be treated less favourably than a comparable permanent employee where the reason for that treatment is that he or she is employed on a fixed term contract. Less favourable treatment would include inferior contract terms and/or benefits and any other detriment (eg fewer opportunities to receive training or to secure permanent employment). However, an employer will not be liable under the Regulations if it is able to demonstrate that the less favourable treatment is justified on objective grounds.

Who is a comparable employee?

A comparable employee is defined as someone who is engaged in the same or similar work. In determining who should be regarded as a comparable employee, a Tribunal may also take into account (where relevant) whether the alleged comparator has a similar level of qualification and skills as the fixed term employee.

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