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Fixed Term Contracts

Policy & Procedure

Version: V2

Ratified by: People & Culture Committee

Date ratified: 11/11/2025

Job Title of author: Director, People Partner

Reviewed by Committee or Expert Group Staff Partnership Forum

Equality Impact Assessed by: Director, People Partnering

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Provide aims to deliver high quality and safe services and it recognises that this commitment to quality and safety must be reflected in the work and conduct of all its employees.

1.2 The aim of this policy is to provide a framework for managers and employees (who are engaged on a fixed term contract), ensuring that all colleagues employed on a fixed-term contract are treated fairly and equitably in line with the Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002.

2. SCOPE

2.1 This procedure applies to all Provide Group employees engaged on a fixed term contract This procedure is non-contractual and Provide Group reserves the right to depart from the steps herein on a case by case basis and/or to vary, amend and/or withdraw it at any time in its sole discretion.

3. DEFINITIONS

3.1 A fixed term contract is an employment contract that is agreed for a fixed period i.e. the contract has a defined beginning and end date. Fixed term contracts should only be used when circumstances make it inappropriate to employ an individual under a permanent contract of employment.

3.2 Examples of fixed term employees include employees who are covering the maternity or sick leave of another employee, individuals recruited for a specific project and employees who are employed on a specific training / educational programme.

3.3 The reason for establishing a fixed-term contract should be clear and specific. It is important that the reason is shared at the beginning of and during the recruitment process, in order to provide important clarity around the nature of the role.

3.4 In accordance with the Employment Rights Act 1996 Section 139 employees may be dismissed as a result of redundancy in the following circumstances:

• Where the employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed; or where the employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business in the place where the employee was employed

• Where the requirements of the business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind, in the place where they were so employed, have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish.

4. RESPONSIBILITIES

4.1 Line Managers

4.1.1 Ensure that fixed term contracts are only used where the service needs require this, i.e. when there is a need to cover maternity leave or long term sickness or when the role will be supporting a time limited / funded piece of work etc.

4.1.2 For roles employed on NHS terms and condition, line managers should be aware of the potential cost implications of engaging an individual who has previous NHS service in respect of annual leave, sickness absence and potential redundancy costs (if they have 2 years or more continuous service) etc. Further advice and guidance should be sought from a member of the People Partnering Team before an offer of employment is made.

4.1.3 It is the responsibility of the recruiting manager to ensure any recruitment process and offer of employment makes it clear to prospective employees that the contract is:

• for a specified period of time (i.e. the termination date, length of contract etc. will be stated) and

• the purposes of the contract in terms of the completion of a specified job, task or project and that once that job, task or project is complete, the contract will terminate, and/or

• the contract is to cover the role/work of another employee who is absent from work, and that when that employee returns to work, the contract will terminate.

4.1.4 To ensure that if a fixed term or temporary contract ends before its natural expiry date that a fair process is followed and the appropriate notice given (where terminated early).

4.1.5 To communicate clearly to the employee the end date of the contract and whether any extension has been sought or is obtained via the appropriate written correspondence, templates for which can be found in the appendices of this Policy and Procedure.

4.1.6 Ensure the employee is not treated less favourably and the employee is made aware of all vacancies within the organisation and where to find them.

4.1.7 Ensure that the relevant payroll forms are completed so that the employee is paid correctly, especially completing a leavers’ form (P4) at the end of the fixed term contract ensuring that the employee is not over or underpaid.

4.2 Employees

4.2.1 Employees must ensure that they are aware of the terms of their fixed term contract and ensure they engage in conversations with their line manager regarding any changes to their fixed term contract i.e. extensions or termination of their contract.

4.2.2 Ensure that they follow relevant policies and procedures

4.3 People Directorate

4.3.1 To keep up to date records of all employees on Fixed Term Contracts and to notify managers of an employee’s fixed term contract end date within good time to allow the manager to follow the correct process with regards to extending or terminating the contract.

4.3.2 To provide expert advice and guidance as to when the use of a Fixed Term Contract may be appropriate.

4.3.3 To provide advice and guidance regarding the extension or termination of a Fixed Term Contract, as necessary.

5. EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

Colleagues employed on a fixed term contract receive many of the same entitlements as their comparators on permanent contracts. This means that fixed term employees have the right to:

• The same pay and conditions

• Entitlement to annual leave and bank holidays

• Sickness entitlement

• Service qualification

• Access to pension scheme

• Access to Training and Development

• Notification of all vacancies available.

6. MONITORING AND REVIEW

6.1 This policy will be reviewed at least every 4 years in line with the Policy for the Management of Procedural Documents, or more frequently in line with any requirements relating from legislative changes.

6.2 Review will be undertaken by a CIPD registered member of the People Partnering Team and monitoring will be conducted in respect of policy outcomes. The need for improvement or clarification may be identified as lessons learnt, through using the process and where appropriate amendments will be made.

PROCEDURE

1. Recruitment into a Fixed Term Contract post

Consideration should always be given to whether the requirements of a role could be covered by an existing employee acting up, through a secondment or a temporary rearrangement of duties. Where these are deemed as not suitable a fixed term contract can be considered for the following reasons:

• The post is a clearly defined training or career development position where there is a specified period of training.

• The post has been set up to carry out a temporary or time-limited task, project or piece of work.

• The post requires (normally higher level) specialist skills for a limited period of time or to accomplish a particular task or project for a limited period.

• There is time-limited funding for the post.

• The post is to provide cover for maternity, career break, secondment, sabbatical, organisational change or sick leave.

The above list is not exhaustive and there may be other circumstances where a fixed term contract is more appropriate; however, this should be discussed with a member of the People Partnering Team before advertising or issuing a fixed term contract.

Fixed term posts will be advertised in the same way as any other substantive post, but the recruiting manager must ensure that the advert clearly states that the contract is fixed term, the term of the contract and/or end date of the contract and the reason for the fixed term contract.

If a post has been advertised as permanent, it should not subsequently be appointed to on a fixed-term basis without the agreement of the prospective employee supported by an objectively justifiable reason(s), for example, a change in service need or funding

2. Extension of a Fixed Term Contract post

If there is a requirement to extend or renew a fixed term contract beyond the planned end date this should be in done in consultation with Finance/budget holder/Director of Operations and a member of the People Partnering Team. At this stage consideration should be given as to whether the role should be made substantive.

Any approved extensions or changes to the fixed term contract must be confirmed in writing by the manager to the employee.

A P3 should also be completed by the line manager confirming the extension of contract, once managerial and financial approval has been gained.

Maternity / Adoption /Shared Parental Leave

An employee who is employed on NHS Terms and Conditions and subject to a fixed term contract which expires after:

• the 11th weeks before the expected week of childbirth; or

• the date of matching; or

• the 15th week before the baby’s due date if applying via a surrogacy arrangement and who satisfy the eligibility criteria for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave should contact a member of the People Partnering Team for further advice.

Please refer to HRPOL41 Family Leave Policy for further details.

3. Termination of a Fixed Term Contract

Managers are encouraged to discuss the tenure of fixed term contracts informally with employees throughout their employment with Provide. This is to help manage the expectations of the employee and the manager with regard to any extensions or the termination of the fixed term contract

These informal conversations do not replace the requirement for a reasonable process to be followed when the manager is terminating a fixed term contract. The line manager should seek advice from their People Partner.

4. Termination of Fixed Term Contract on alternative grounds

Fixed term contracts issued by Provide state that the contract can be ended earlier than the originally agreed date giving the appropriate contractual notice from either party (employee or employer).

Where there may be a case of poor performance, misconduct and capability, sickness or any other employee relations issue/s, the manager may terminate the fixed term contract at any time providing they have followed the appropriate Provide policy and/or procedures and ensuring appropriate notice is given.

In the case of a finding of gross misconduct no contractual notice will be given in accordance with the organisations Disciplinary Policy & Procedure.

5. Appeals against Dismissal

An employee who wishes to exercise their right of appeal against being dismissed as a consequence of their fixed term contract ending, may do so in accordance with the Appeals Procedure within the organisation’s Disciplinary Policy & Procedure HRPOL14

6. Redundancy

Employees on fixed term contracts who are dismissed as a result of redundancy may be entitled to a redundancy payment dependent on the following eligibility criteria:

• The employee has more than 2 years’ service on the fixed term contract; and/or

• Has confirmed continuous NHS service of 2 or more years (confirmed service meaning that the employee has provided proof of continuous service and this has

been ratified by Provide through the usual channels i.e. IAT transfer, previous NHS contracts, employee references etc.); and

• Their fixed term contract is due to expire after the implementation date of an organisational change.

It should be noted that fixed term contract employees must not be selected for redundancy purely on the basis that they hold a fixed term contract. Managers should seek further advice from a member of the People Partnering Team.

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE: Stage 1: ‘Screening’

Name of project/policy/strategy (hereafter referred to as “initiative”):

FIXED TERM CONTRACTS POLICY & PROCEDURE

Provide a brief summary (bullet points) of the aims of the initiative and main activities:

The aim of the policy/procedure is to provide guidance to managers to ensure that the organisation meets its legal obligations arising from The Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2022.

Project/Policy Manager: Director, People Partnering Date: August 2025

This stage establishes whether a proposed initiative will have an impact from an equality perspective on any particular group of people or community – i.e. on the grounds of race (incl. religion/faith), gender (incl. sexual orientation), age, disability, or whether it is “equality neutral” (i.e. have no effect either positive or negative). In the case of gender, consider whether men and women are affected differently.

Q1. Who will benefit from this initiative? Is there likely to be a positive impact on specific groups/communities (whether or not they are the intended beneficiaries), and if so, how? Or is it clear at this stage that it will be equality “neutral”? i.e. will have no particular effect on any group.

Equality neutral – this policy/procedure will ensure a fair process for all employees employed on a fixed term contract.

Q2. Is there likely to be an adverse impact on one or more minority/under-represented or community groups as a result of this initiative? If so, who may be affected and why? Or is it clear at this stage that it will be equality “neutral”?

Equality neutral

Q3. Is the impact of the initiative – whether positive or negative - significant enough to warrant a more detailed assessment (Stage 2 – see guidance)? If not, will there be monitoring and review to assess the impact over a period time? Briefly (bullet points) give reasons for your answer and any steps you are taking to address particular issues, including any consultation with employees or external groups/agencies.

N/A

Guidelines: Things to consider

Equality impact assessments at Provide take account of relevant equality legislation and include age, (i.e. young and old,); race and ethnicity, gender, disability, religion and faith, and sexual orientation. The initiative may have a positive, negative or neutral impact, i.e. have no particular effect on the group/community.

Where a negative (i.e. adverse) impact is identified, it may be appropriate to make a more detailed EIA (see Stage 2), or, as important, take early action to redress this – e.g. by abandoning or modifying the initiative. NB: If the initiative contravenes equality legislation, it must be abandoned or modified.

Where an initiative has a positive impact on groups/community relations, the EIA should make this explicit, to enable the outcomes to be monitored over its lifespan.

Where there is a positive impact on particular groups does this mean there could be an adverse impact on others, and if so can this be justified? - e.g. are there other existing or planned initiatives which redress this?

It may not be possible to provide detailed answers to some of these questions at the start of the initiative. The EIA may identify a lack of relevant data, and that data-gathering is a specific action required to inform the initiative as it develops, and also to form part of a continuing evaluation and review process.

It is envisaged that it will be relatively rare for full impact assessments to be carried out at Provide. Usually, where there are particular problems identified in the screening stage, it is envisaged that the approach will be amended at this stage, and/or setting up a monitoring/evaluation system to review a policy’s impact over time.

Further information:

Useful Websites

www.equalityhumanrights.com Website for new Equality agency www.employers-forum.co.uk – Employers forum on disability www.disabilitynow.org.uk – online disability related newspaper www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk – Gender issues in more depth www.opportunitynow.org.uk - Employer member organisation (gender) www.efa.org.uk – Employers forum on age www.agepositive.gov.uk – Age issues in more depth

EQUALITY IMPACT

ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE: Stage One: ‘Screening’