Defining Your Role

Permanent contracts are used where the role is required for an indefinite duration. These can be on a full-time basis (35 hours) or part-time basis.

Fixed-term contracts can be a useful way to get additional help for a fixed period or to make use of limited funding.  

Fixed-term posts should be advertised in the normal way.  According to fixed-term contract legislation, care should be taken to ensure that they are used in justifiable cases. The law states that there should be a clear and justifiable reason for using fixed-term contracts.  

 These are:

• Covering staff absence, for example maternity leave 
• To work on a specific project 
• To provide a career development opportunity, for example when using the School’s graduate internship scheme or when appointing an LSE Fellow. 

In cases of temporary funding, the School took the decision to offer contracts that are ‘open-ended, subject to funding’.  This helps to make it clear to employees that the post would otherwise be permanent if the funding was in place to support it. 

If you would like to advertise for a fixed-term post, it is good practice to clarify the expected end date of the post and state why the post is fixed-term, for example, to cover maternity leave for 12 months.  This helps to manage applicants’ expectations and helps them decide if they would like to apply for the role or not.  

Another option to consider is advertising the role as a secondment.  A secondment can be a fantastic career development opportunity to internal staff, enabling them to undertake the role and then return to their existing role at the end of the contract.  Secondments can be used within departments, or across the School. 

Apprenticeships are structured development programmes, up to and above degree level, for employees who have a role that allows them the chance to gain and practice new knowledge, skills and behaviour. 

Apprenticeships can therefore be used to support selection of new or current employees, into permanent or fixed term posts (I.e. finding someone for a hard to fill role – or giving an employee the skills required for project work or a specific secondment).

Secondments give professional services staff the opportunity to broaden their skills and knowledge by undertaking a fixed-term role in a different team or area of the School. 

Further information on secondment opportunities can be found here. 

Casual contracts are used when employing an individual on a one-off basis for no more than 35 hours, over a period of no longer than one month. 

Further information on casual contracts can be found here.

Typically, hourly-paid support staff are members of staff contracted by the school to carry out administrative or other types of professional services support work. 

Typically, hourly-paid support staff are members of staff contracted by the school to carry out administrative or other types of professional services support work. 

Further information on hourly paid contracts can be found here.