What Makes A Fixed Term Genuine
Your contract keeps getting renewed and you wonder if that still counts as fixed term.
A genuine fixed-term contract reflects real, temporary work, and that word genuine matters more than it might first appear.
What It Means
A fixed-term arrangement is meant to cover work that is actually temporary, such as a specific project, a defined season, or cover for someone on leave, with a clear reason for the set end date.
It is not meant to be a way of avoiding ordinary dismissal protections while the underlying work continues indefinitely in the same way as any permanent role.
Why It Matters To You
Where a contract is repeatedly renewed for the same, ongoing work with no real change in circumstances, that pattern can support an argument that the relationship was, in substance, permanent employment.
If that argument succeeds, ending the arrangement without a fair reason can be challenged in the same way as an ordinary dismissal.
How Do You Tell If Yours Is Genuine
Ask whether the reason for the fixed term still exists today, or whether it quietly disappeared while your contract kept being renewed in the same shape.
Read about fixed-term contracts generally for how the ending of one can be challenged, and keep copies of every renewal you were given.
If your contract has now ended, check your 60-day window on the deadline calculator before you decide your next step.
Telling us how many times your contract was renewed, and what reasons were given, helps us see whether it still looks genuinely fixed term.
Common questions
How many renewals does it take before a contract stops being genuinely fixed term?
There is no fixed number written into law. It depends on the pattern, the reason given each time, and whether the underlying work was actually temporary rather than ongoing.
Does my job title change whether this applies to me?
Your title matters less than the substance of the arrangement. A role called project-based that runs continuously for years, doing the same ongoing work, invites closer scrutiny.
Keep reading
Telling us how many times your contract was renewed, and what reasons were given, helps us see whether it still looks genuinely fixed term.