CRS and Teaching Fellows Symposium

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CRS and Teaching Fellows Symposium

• Human Resources

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Fixed Term Employees Regulations 2002

• The use of successive fixed term contracts
• University and AUT negotiations currently taking
  place
• Formulating a policy that is more beneficial than
  the statutory minimum requirement

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Summary of the Legal Position

• The Regulations mean that if fixed term employees
  have their contracts renewed, or if they are
  given a new fixed term contract, when they
  already have a period of 4 or more years of
  continuous employment, the renewal or new
  contract will take effect as a standard contract
  unless employment on a fixed term contract is
  objectively justified.

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Summary of the Legal Position (Cont.)

• The clock started ticking on continuous service
  on 10 July 2002
• No continuous service prior to this date counts,
  that is why the crucial date is 10 July 2006
• This does not mean that all fixed term employees
  with 4 or more years service on 10 July 2006
  automatically become permanent

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Negotiations

• There should be transparent, necessary and
  objective reasons for placing a post initially
  and subsequently on a fixed term contract
• A list will be produced, after negotiation, which
  details specifically defined circumstances for
  the use of FTCs

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Negotiations (Cont.)

• Currently negotiating on transferring fixed term
  employees to standard contracts
• Current position is that the University will
  commence this process on 1 January 2006 rather
  than 10 July 2006
• Current negotiations to decide whether it should
  be 4 or 5 years continuous service at 1 January

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Negotiations (Cont.)

• The legal position is that there is no limit on
  the duration of a first FTC
• There are negotiations to limit the award of a
  FTC at the University to 4 years other than in
  exceptional circumstances
• A list will be produced, after negotiation, which
  will detail what the University considers to be
  objectively justifiable reasons for not placing a
  fixed term employee on a standard contract