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.