Fixed-term contracts: as end date approaches (2 or more years’ service)

No later than 4 months before the contract end date:

Action for departments

• By reference to the original justification for the fixed-term, the department and line manager should consider all alternative options to the expiry of the contract, including (for academic-related externally funded staff) whether an open-ended externally funded contract could be considered.  
• If the contract can definitely be renewed/extended then the appropriate arrangements for renewal/issuing of a new contract should be followed. 
• In all other cases, the Record of Consultation form at the right hand side of the page should be used to summarise the discussions between departmental HR staff and the line manager about the current position regarding the post (likelihood of contract being ended, consideration of alternatives to ending the contract).
• If the post holder is pregnant, or is on or has recently returned from a period of family leave which qualifies under the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family leave) Act 2023 (see above for details) then consult with your HR Business Partner before proceeding: these postholders have enhanced protection from redundancy under legislation, and will need to be prioritised for redeployment opportunities during the period in which they are considered to be a priority candidate (typically the final 3 months of the contract), even if they have less than two years’ continuous service.
• Whilst every effort should be made to support redeployment, there is no guarantee that suitable redeployment will be found: suitable alternative employment (ie where the postholder meets at least the minimum essential selection criteria for the role) may not arise during the relevant period of time.  In such cases the contract will end at its anticipated date and redundancy payments may be due.

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No later than 3 months before the contract end date

Action for departments

Unless it has been possible to offer a contract extension or new contract the department should:

• decide who will be the appropriate key contact for the individual in co-ordinating the end of contract process and providing assistance. This may be the line manager, departmental administrator, or a member of the HR team, as appropriate to the department. It is important that this is someone who can provide support through the redeployment process.
• The individual must be invited to a consultation meeting (pro forma letter X1). They must be given five working days’ notice of the meeting and advised that they have the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative, or colleague from within the University, if they wish. The purpose of the meeting is to remind staff of the approaching contract expiry date and consult on the prospects for alternatives to ending the contract, taking account of the postholder’s aspirations.
• If the individual does not wish to engage with this process (for example, because they have already secured future employment, or are moving to another area/country) they should sign the declaration (sent with the letter) to this effect and return this to the department’s HR contact/team. This should be retained on file and the department should move to Stage 5: confirming the contract expiry (below).
• If the individual fails to respond to the initial invitation, one attempt should be made to rearrange and a second meeting date offered, giving five working days’ notice (pro forma letter X2).
• If the employee fails to respond to a second invitation, then pro forma letter X3 should be sent confirming arrangements for ending the contract, and setting out the details of any redundancy payment which is due and the arrangements for appeal. The department should move to the guidance set out below at Stage 5: confirming the contract expiry, concerning making the redundancy payment.

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Action for departments

Before the meeting:

• the department should prepare a priority candidate cover letter (pro forma letter P1) for the employee which explains the employee’s grade, job title and contract end date, as well as briefly explaining the reason that the contract will end by reference to the original justifications for the fixed-term contract.

At the meeting the employee should be:

• advised of the likelihood that the contract will end, and the reasons for this;
• given the opportunity to put forward any suggestions as to how the post might be continued.  Any such suggestions must be considered.  However, it is recognised that in some cases, for example where the post is to cover the absence of the substantive postholder, or the employee is employed on a limited term visa which may not be renewed, or employed on a project which is ending, there may be little scope for flexibility;
• advised that they are entitled to time off during the working day to attend interviews or relevant training;
• asked about their own career plans and whether they wish to be considered for suitable alternative employment* within the University.  This process is referred to as redeployment, and the period between the individual being given notice that their contract may end, and the actual contract end date is the redeployment period.

If the individual expresses interest in seeking redeployment they should be advised that:

• In the event that a potentially suitable vacancy occurs within the currently-employing department during the redeployment period, they will be invited to discuss it before it is advertised more widely.  In the event that they are found to be suitable match, and wish to take up the post, they will be offered the post without the need for a formal application process (unless there is more than one priority candidate within the department, in which case an internal, competitive process may be required);
• Individuals should engage with job search activities, such as preparing an up-to-date CV, searching job sites (both the University’s Internal Jobs Board,  accessed via HR Self Service, as well as external resources to maximise the chances of suitable employment being found),
• They should apply for suitable posts, following job search guidance including ‘Useful Career Resources’ available from resources such as the University’s Careers Service.
• All University vacancies are advertised through the University’s Internal Jobs Board, accessed via HR Self Service so they should regularly consult this if they wish to look for jobs in the University more broadly;
• Assistance is available, if necessary, with use of the  e-recruitment system;
• Where a vacancy which might represent suitable alternative employment arises in another department of the University during the redeployment period they may request to  be considered as a ‘priority candidate’ for the post. The individual should be given the priority candidate confirmation letter (pro-forma letter P1) and the process should be explained;
• The People and Organisation Development Unit have a number of resources to help support staff in their next step, including confidential impartial career advice for administrative and support staff and, support with internal applications and interview preparation. Further information can be found here.
• (for research staff) The University Careers Service offers resources, 1:1 advice and other support to researchers during and after employment

The department should exercise discretion in the level of assistance a member of staff may wish or require.

The Record of Consultation form at the right hand side of the page should be used to record the meeting and a copy of this form may be given to the individual or, if preferred, the department may write to the individual summarising the discussion after the meeting.

Action for individuals

The effectiveness of redeployment efforts are dependent upon the full engagement of the staff member concerned. Staff wishing to seek redeployment are expected to exercise flexibility in the types of work they will consider and to actively engage with the process by:

• regularly checking the University’s Internal Jobs Board, accessed via HR Self Service
• submitting applications for appropriate posts
• asking for assistance as required
• seeking training where this may improve employability
• engaging with the resources offered by POD and the Careers Service to help with job search skills.

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This stage only applies where employee has expressed the wish to be able to apply for posts in other departments as a priority candidate or is eligible under the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family leave) Act 2023 (see above for details).

If this is the case please follow the guidance at priority candidate and then continue from stage 5 below.

If the employee confirms in writing that they do not wish to be able to apply for posts as a priority candidate please continue to stage 5 below.

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No later than 1 month before the contract end date

No later than one month prior to the scheduled expiry of a fixed-term contract, if employment has not been renewed or extended, and no suitable redeployment opportunities have been found, the department must write to the employee confirming that their contract will expire, using (pro-forma letter X4). This letter should include information on redundancy pay and the right to appeal.

Notice Period

Fixed-term contracts provide notice of the date on which, subject to renewal or extension, the employee’s employment will come to an end. As a result, there is no contractual requirement to provide a further notice period if employment is expected to end on the date specified in the employment contract.

Redundancy payment

Employees on fixed-term contracts are entitled to a statutory redundancy payment if they have worked continuously for the University for at least two years and their post is being made redundant.

Whenever a redundancy payment is made, the employee must be given a written statement showing how the payment has been calculated.

Employees may, however, not be entitled to a redundancy payment if they:

• have found, or been successfully redeployed, to another post within the University;
• have been offered and refused suitable alternative work without good reason;
• leave employment before the end of the notice period (by resignation) in order to take up alternative work whether within the University or elsewhere; or
• have been employed to cover a maternity/sickness absence leave, or their contract is ending because their limited term visa is ending, but the post they occupy is not being made redundant.
• E64 Clinical training fellowships: when such contracts reach their completion date, as long as the reason for the fixed term  for non-renewal is that the training has been completed the reason for employment ending is not redundancy but ‘some other substantial reason', and therefore no redundancy payment is due. Pro forma letter X6 should be used. The normal FTC process should still be followed.

An employee does not have to make a claim to redundancy pay in order to be entitled to it. The employing department must calculate the statutory redundancy payment using the calculator tool on the Gov.uk website and then process this payment in People XD.

Departments that do not use PeopleXD directly should notify the HRIS Data Services team via the Data Services Leaver Form, which should be uploaded onto Sharepoint in order for the Data Services team to process this payment in PeopleXD.

The redundancy payments will normally be made with the final pay or in the next available pay period after notification as a bank transfer payment.

Employees who, on leaving University employment, receive a redundancy payment should not be re-employed by the University in any capacity for a period of at least four complete calendar weeks (a calendar week being judged to start on a Sunday) after the leaving date. For further information contact your HR Business Partner.

If a staff member holds more than one contract at the University

If a staff member who holds more than one contract at the University is being made redundant from only one contracted role they may (save where any of the exemptions noted above apply) be entitled to a statutory redundancy payment. Further guidance should be sought from the HR Business Partner in this situation.

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Fixed-term employees have the right to appeal against notice of dismissal on grounds of redundancy. Details of the appropriate appeal process are included in the notice of dismissal (pro-forma letter X4).

Any appeal must follow one of two processes:

For academic and academic-related staff

• appeals are made and considered under Statute XII, Part H

For support staff

• appeals are made and considered under arrangements for a Redundancy Panel

In all cases, every effort will be made to hear appeals before the date on which the individual's employment is due to end. Employment will not be extended to hear the appeal. If it has not been possible to hear the appeal before contract expiry date (the “date of the dismissal”), an employee whose appeal is successful will be reinstated with full continuity of service and no loss of pay or other employment benefits. The employee will be required to return any payment made in respect of any termination of employment.

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In the event that a short contract extension (up to six months) is arranged during the course of the procedure outlined here, then the pro forma contract extension letter should include the relevant additional paragraphs reflecting.

Any assistance with redeployment which has been agreed may continue if required by the individual, but the individual may only be considered as a priority candidate from three months before the new contract end date. A new priority candidate cover letter (pro forma letter P1) should be issued at the appropriate time, reflecting the new contract end date.

Where a contract extension of more than six months is agreed (or where a contract extension of less than six months is arranged before any of actions outlined above have been started) the process outlined in this guidance should be started from the beginning at the appropriate time.

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