Continuous service - Fixed term contracts followed by permanent contract

[Supergekko]

Hi,

My employer is looking to lay me off (not redundancy more personality clash with boss) and because they say I have less than 2 years continuous service, I do not have the right to appeal against unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.

I have been working at the company since Feb '11.

Feb 11 - Feb 13 were worked under rolling 6 month contracts with the company (although pay was administered through an agent)
Mar 13 to date - I was promoted and went onto a permanent contract

My question is, can the fixed term contract period be added to the permanent period when calculating continuous service?

Any help on this or if someone can point me to a good employment lawyer would be much appreciated!

[des8]

Re: Continuous service - Fixed term contracts followed by permanent contract

Whilst not really up on employment matters I think you might have a case.
Have a look at this gov.site can the fixed term contract period be added to the permanent period when calculating continuous service?

This post will bump your thread up and hopefully others will pick up on it for you

[Supergekko]

Re: Continuous service - Fixed term contracts followed by permanent contract

Hi des8,

Can you provide a link to the website you recommend?

Thanks

[des8]

Re: Continuous service - Fixed term contracts followed by permanent contract

https://www.gov.uk/fixed-term-contra...dterm-contract

Oops, sorryI was rushing out this morning and fingers must have suffered a twitch:tinysmile_grin_t:

[Supergekko]

Re: Continuous service - Fixed term contracts followed by permanent contract

Thank you des8 and Kate.

In case someone stumbles across this thread and find themselves in a similar situation to me, here is an update following a meeting I had today with an employment lawyer.

In my initial post I did not quite lay out the facts correctly. Prior to becoming permanently employed in March 2013, my 6 monthly contract was with an agent, not with my company as I had stated above. Unfortunately, being an agency worker has broken the continuity. My lawyer says that in the event of an employment tribunal, I only have a 10-15% chance of showing that 2 years + continuity exists.

I hope this helps to inform anyone who finds themselves in a similar scenario, and shows that ordinarily you have very little protection against unfair dismissal in the first 2 years of employment. For me it is quite a wake up call, and I'm inclined to go back to being a contractor now.

Supergekko.