The Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002, SI 2002/2034 came into force on 1st October 2002. The regulations were prompted by the need to ensure that British law complies with the EC Fixed Term Work Directive 1999/70/EC (see Fixed term contracts/1999 EC Directive ). This directive was originally meant to be implemented by 10th July 2001 but the British government took advantage of a let-out giving Member States a maximum of one more year "following consultation with management and labour, to take account of special difficulties or implementation by a collective agreement" (art 2). Even that one year delay was extended as the regulations in fact apply from 1st October 2002, albeit with some backdating to 10th July 2002 (see immediately below).

The basic idea is that it becomes unlawful to treat a fixed-term employee less favourably than a comparable permanent employee engaged in similar work, but subject to a defence of objective justification. An employer can objectively justify individual terms which are less favourable if a fixed-term employee's contract taken as a whole is as favourable to him as contracts of permanent employees are to them.

Several other related issues are also covered, notably

• fixed term contracts are automatically converted to contracts of indefinite length after four years (the four years cannot start before 10th July 2002 so 10th July 2006 is the first "effective" date for this regulation to bite) (FTER 2002 reg 8);
  
• removal of the ability of a fixed term employee to waive his right to statutory redundancy pay on expiry of the fixed term, subject to transitional provisions (FTER 2002 reg 11 and FTER 2002 sch 2 para 3(15) and para 5);
  
• making the completion of a task contract count as dismissal for unfair dismissal purposes (FTER 2002 reg 1(2))
  
• a fixed term employee who considers he is being treated unfairly can require his employer to provide a written statement setting out the reasons for the treatment complained of (FTER 2002 reg 5).

An important change from the DTI original draft regulations, March 2001, (para 2(3)(b)) is that after pressure from various bodies (see for example a TUC Press Release of 14th August 2001) the 2002 regulations cover pay and pensions. One result is that it is now unlawful for occupational pension schemes to exclude from membership temporary employees who are on fixed-term contracts if comparable permanent employees are eligible for membership.

The Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 apply to fixed term employees only. Thus an employer can effectively circumvent some parts (ie the non-discrimination parts) of the new regulations by the simple expedient of employing those whom he might previously have employed on fixed term contracts under normal permanent contracts instead. Subject to ensuring that there is no infringement of sex (which includes equal pay), race and disability discrimination, there is no statutory requirement that terms of contracts offered to one group of employees must be the same as those offered to others, so an employer can still legitimately offer different employment terms to different groups of employees who are not fixed term employees covered by the regulations (but see also notes at Implied terms in employment contracts ). However this is all uncharted territory and professional advice should be sought in any particular case.

See also notes in this program at Fixed term contracts generally and especially Fixed term contracts/1999 EC Directive and/or go to ACTS OF PARLIAMENT etc/Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002/index and text for full text of the regulations.

For the position of part time fixed-term employees see Part-time workers/2000 regulations/notes