To: Headteachers of all Norfolk schools

cc: Chairs of Governors

Dear Colleague,

New Fixed Term Employees Regulations

I am attaching a synopsis of the Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 which came into force on 1^st October, 2002 but which is partly retrospective in that certain provisions are deemed to commence after 10^th July, 2002.

These Regulations apply to employees but not to staff of agencies or apprentices and employment in defined work experience schemes.

The term "fixed term contract" has been extended beyond one that merely means that the contract ends on a set date. Other contracts such as "task contracts", i.e. those that end on the completion of a specific task or on the happening/non-happening of a specific event, are now included.

The prime provision of the Regulations is to ensure that fixed term employees have the right not to be less favourably treated than comparable permanent employees on the grounds of being fixed term, unless justified on objective grounds. However, objective grounds according to DTI guidance is a very narrow definition and my advice is to contact your school's Personnel Consultant if, in the future, you wish to apply different rules to staff on fixed term contracts.

Generally speaking in the public sector, staff on fixed term contracts are treated equally for pay purposes but are mainly treated less favourably in terms of redundancy selection and in the previous definition of a fixed term contract they were often excluded from entitlement to a redundancy payment.

You will see from the preceding paragraphs that the difference between permanent and fixed term employees has narrowed to the point where it is no longer advisable to treat them differently. This is a matter which the Teachers' Panel in particular have been most anxious to point out to me and I fully endorse their view that schools should make use of fixed term contracts as sparingly as possible. You will be aware that many staff in schools are on fixed term contracts, either because of a particular Government grant or special needs funding. However, you will also be aware that many of these staff, in reality, have been employed in a series of end-on contracts. I now think that we have reached the stage both in terms of this change in the law and also in relation to recruiting and retaining the highest quality staff, for new employees or existing employees, to be employed on a permanent basis. You will need to apply your judgement in respect of these cases but, where doubt exists, again please speak to your school's Personnel Consultant.

I will be consulting the trade unions on a change required in the agreed redundancy selection criteria reflecting these new regulations.

In due course, Education Personnel Services will add this advice into the Personnel Handbook.

Yours sincerely,

Bryan Slater

Director of Education