Appendix fm immigration rules

This article is written for HR professionals and business owners who need clarity on how fixed term contracts operate in practice under UK employment law. It addresses the questions employers actually ask: what a fixed term contract legally means, what rights attach to fixed term status, how redundancy and maternity leave interact with fixed term arrangements, how notice periods operate, and when a fixed term contract becomes a contract of indefinite duration by operation of law.

Reform UK has said that, if elected, it would introduce a suspension of visa issuance for certain countries that refuse to accept the return of their nationals who have no legal right to remain in the United Kingdom. The countries referenced in reporting include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia.

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What this article is about: This guide provides a detailed legal and practical analysis of fixed term contracts in the UK. It explains the statutory framework, the four-year rule, redundancy and maternity implications, early termination risks and renewal governance. It is designed to help employers use fixed term contracts deliberately and lawfully, while avoiding the compliance traps that most commonly lead to Employment Tribunal claims. For wider compliance context and governance expectations, see our employment law hub.

A fixed term employment contract is not a lesser form of employment. It is a full contract of employment governed by the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002. The presence of a defined end date does not dilute statutory protection. Nor does it remove the need for a fair reason and fair process where qualifying service thresholds are met.

A fixed term contract is one of the most commonly used employment structures in the UK, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood from a legal risk perspective. Many employers assume that because a contract has an end date, the legal obligations attached to it are lighter. In reality, the opposite is often true. Fixed term contracts sit within a tightly regulated statutory framework, and non-renewal decisions regularly generate unfair dismissal, redundancy and discrimination claims.

Tribunal claims involving fixed term contracts most frequently arise at the point of expiry. Employers often treat the end of a fixed term contract as an administrative event rather than a dismissal decision. In law, however, the expiry and non-renewal of a fixed term contract constitutes a dismissal. If the employee has the necessary continuity of service, the employer must justify that dismissal and demonstrate procedural fairness. Where disputes escalate, employers can find themselves defending proceedings in the Employment Tribunal with avoidable evidential weaknesses.

Reform UKs Shadow Home Secretary, Zia Yusuf, set out proposals in a speech delivered in Dover this week, alongside party leader Nigel Farage, outlining what the party described as a comprehensive reset of UK immigration and internal security policy. Among the measures referenced was a proposed suspension of visa issuance for certain countries that refuse to accept the return of their nationals who have no legal right to remain in the United Kingdom.