Some employment contracts specify that they will last until a particular job or project, such as the installation of a computer system, is completed or a particular event, such as the withdrawal of funding for the post, occurs. (In practice, this type of contract is seldom used, not least because it may be difficult to define precisely when a particular task has been completed.)
In terms of contract law, these contracts end automatically when the task is completed or the event occurs. For the purposes of statutory employment rights, however, an employee working under this type of contract is treated as dismissed if his or her contract is not renewed when it ends (fixed-term contracts). That means that, depending on the employee's length of service and the reason why the contract was not renewed, the employee may have the right to claim unfair dismissal or a redundancy payment (redundancy payments) and to be provided with a written statement of the reasons why the contract was not renewed (written reason for dismissal). The statutory minimum dismissal procedure ( minimum dismissal procedures ) also applies to the non-renewal of this type of contract. This means that, before deciding not to renew the contract, the employer should write to the employee explaining that it is considering not renewing the contract and inviting the employee to a meeting to discuss this. If a decision is then made not to renew the contract, the employee should be offered the right to appeal.