The ending of fixed-term contracts

From 6 April 2013, the government changed the law on collective consultation on the expiry and non-renewal of fixed-term contracts. The ending and non-renewal of a fixed-term contract no longer counts as a dismissal for the purposes of the duty to consult collectively, unless the employer is proposing to end a fixed-term contract prematurely — i.e. before its expiry date — for a reason related to redundancy.

A reason related to redundancy is one that, unlike capability or maternity, for example, does not relate to the individual concerned. This change was made under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992 (Amendment) Order 2013. It reverses an important gain by higher education union UCU in Lancaster University v UCU [2010] UKEAT/0278/10/2710.