Employment contract for a fixed-term employee

A fixed-term contract ends on a date or when a task is complete, which sounds like a tidy arrangement until an employer discovers that it cannot end the contract early without a notice clause, that the expiry is a dismissal that may be a redundancy, that a fixed-term employee is entitled to the same terms as permanent staff, and that a run of renewals turns the employee permanent. The contract has to set the term and the end, provide for early termination, treat the employee no less favourably, and manage the expiry and any renewal properly. I draft that contract for the employer for a fixed fee of £595, delivered in five working days, as a template for fixed-term hires.

Who this is for

Employers in England and Wales taking on staff for maternity cover, a project, a season, a funded post or a defined task, who want a contract that ends when it should and does not create rights by accident.

What matters in a fixed-term employee's contract

The term, the task and how it ends

The contract should state the end date, or the task or event on whose completion it ends (the return of the person covered, the completion of a project, the end of funding), and should say that the employment terminates automatically on that date or event without further notice, because a contract that says only that it is for a fixed term leaves the ending to argument; where the end is an event, the contract should define it precisely and provide for the employer to confirm the date in writing, and the written particulars under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 must state the period or the expected end.

Early termination and the notice clause that is missing

A fixed-term contract with no notice clause cannot be ended early by the employer except for gross misconduct, and an employer who ends it early is liable for the pay to the end of the term; the contract should therefore contain a notice clause allowing either party to terminate before expiry on stated notice, with the statutory minimum under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 as the floor, and a probation period where the term is long enough for one, so that the employer has the flexibility it would have in a permanent contract while keeping the fixed end.

No less favourable treatment than permanent staff

Regulation 3 of the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 entitles a fixed-term employee not to be treated less favourably than a comparable permanent employee in their terms or by any detriment unless the treatment is objectively justified, including pay, pension under the Pensions Act 2008, holiday under the Working Time Regulations 1998, benefits and training, and the right to be informed of permanent vacancies; a fixed-term contract on worse terms than the permanent one needs a justification for each difference, and the contract should be the permanent contract with a fixed end.

Expiry as a dismissal and the redundancy question

The expiry of a fixed-term contract without renewal is a dismissal under section 95 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, so the employer needs a fair reason and a fair process (usually some other substantial reason, or redundancy where the work has ceased), and an employee with two years' service is entitled to a statutory redundancy payment where the reason is redundancy and to bring an unfair dismissal claim, with the Employment Rights Act 2025 changing the qualifying period on a timetable the regulations set; the contract should provide for the employer to consult before expiry, to consider alternative roles, and to confirm the ending in writing, because an employer that lets a fixed-term contract lapse without a process has dismissed without one.

Renewals, successive terms and becoming permanent

Under regulation 8 of the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 an employee who has been continuously employed on successive fixed-term contracts for four years or more becomes a permanent employee unless the use of a fixed term is objectively justified, and the contract should record the start of continuous employment, provide for renewal in writing with the reason stated, and say that renewal is at the employer's discretion; an employer that renews a fixed-term contract annually for years has a permanent employee whatever the contract says, and the contract should be honest about that.

The particulars and the rest of the contract

The contract supplies the written particulars from day one, states pay at or above the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 rate, hours, holiday with the accrued but untaken holiday paid on expiry, sick pay under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, confidentiality, intellectual property under section 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, deductions agreed under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the disciplinary and grievance procedures, and any training repayment or restrictive covenant the role justifies, drafted no wider than the permanent contract's; where the fixed-term employee is covering maternity leave, the contract should say so, because the end is then defined by the return of the person covered.

What it costs

Employment contract, £595. One template you can reuse for a grade of staff. Five working days.

Staff handbook and core policies, £995. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the employment contracts and handbooks page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A bespoke contract drafted for how you employ people
• Restrictive covenants drafted at a scope a court will uphold
• Confidentiality and intellectual property provisions that put ownership where it belongs
• The statutory particulars, so the document does the job section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires it to do
• Flexibility clauses where you genuinely need them, drafted to survive challenge
• Core policies: disciplinary, grievance, sickness absence, equal opportunities, data protection and, increasingly, AI use
• One round of amendments

What is not included

• Acting for employees
• Employment tribunal representation
• Payroll, pensions auto-enrolment and tax
• Immigration and sponsor licence work
• Day to day HR handling, disciplinaries, grievances and redundancy processes

Questions I am often asked

Can we end a fixed-term contract early if the project is cancelled?

Only if the contract contains a notice clause, which most do not. The contract includes one, so that early termination is on notice rather than a breach that costs the pay to the end of the term.

Is the end of a fixed-term contract a dismissal?

It is, in law, which means a fair reason and a process, and a redundancy payment where the reason is redundancy and the employee has the service. The contract provides for consultation before expiry.

We have renewed a contractor's fixed term three times. Are they permanent?

After four years of successive fixed terms without an objective justification, yes, by statute. The contract records the start of continuous employment and the reason for each renewal so that the position is known.

Related guidance and services

• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Settlement agreements for employers, £795
• Employment contract for a casual worker
• Employment contract for your first employee

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: October 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.