Fixed-term employees on AI projects and pilots (UK)

Introducing AI often brings temporary roles: staff hired for a pilot, a data migration, a system rollout, or to run an old process until it is switched off. Many are on fixed-term contracts. In Great Britain the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 protect them from being treated less favourably than comparable permanent staff, and limit how long successive fixed-term contracts can run. The Regulations apply to employees.

The short answer: a fixed-term employee must not be treated less favourably than a comparable permanent employee, as regards contract terms or by any other detriment, because they are fixed term, unless that is justified on objective grounds (reg 3). They are entitled to be told of permanent vacancies (reg 3(6)), can ask for written reasons within 21 days (reg 5), and can complain to an employment tribunal (reg 7). After four years of continuous employment on renewed or successive fixed-term contracts, the employee becomes permanent unless the fixed term was objectively justified (reg 8).

What counts as a fixed-term contract

A fixed-term contract is a contract of employment that, in the normal course, will end on the expiry of a specific term, on the completion of a particular task, or on the occurrence or non-occurrence of some other specific event (reg 1(2)). A contract that ends "when the new system goes live" or "on completion of the migration" can therefore be fixed term even without an end date.

Who to compare with

A comparable permanent employee is someone employed by the same employer, engaged in the same or broadly similar work (having regard, where relevant, to similar qualifications and skills), who works or is based at the same establishment. Only if there is no such person there can a comparator at another establishment be used (reg 2(1)). The comparator must still be employed (reg 2(2)).

The right not to be treated less favourably

The right covers contract terms and any other detriment by an act, or deliberate failure to act, of the employer (reg 3(1)). It includes in particular any period of service qualification for a condition of service, the opportunity to receive training, and the opportunity to secure a permanent position in the establishment (reg 3(2)). It applies only where the treatment is because the employee is fixed term and is not justified on objective grounds (reg 3(3)).

The pro rata principle applies unless it is inappropriate: the fixed-term employee is to receive such proportion of a comparable permanent employee's pay or other benefit as is reasonable, having regard to the length of their contract and the terms on which the benefit is offered (reg 1(2) and 3(5)). A difference in a contract term is treated as objectively justified if the fixed-term employee's terms, taken as a whole, are at least as favourable as the comparator's (reg 4(1)).

So a project contractor left out of AI training given to permanent colleagues doing similar work, or a reward scheme that excludes fixed-term staff automatically, needs an objective reason.

The right to hear about vacancies

A fixed-term employee has the right to be informed by the employer of available vacancies in the establishment. That is met only if the vacancy is in an advertisement the employee has a reasonable opportunity of reading in the course of their employment, or the employee is given reasonable notification of it in some other way (reg 3(6) and (7)). When new permanent roles appear around a new system, posting them only to permanent staff channels may not be enough.

Asking for written reasons

An employee who considers they may have been treated less favourably can ask in writing for a written statement of the reasons, and is entitled to it within twenty-one days of the request (reg 5(1)). The statement is admissible as evidence. If the employer deliberately and without reasonable excuse fails to provide one, or gives one that is evasive or equivocal, the tribunal may draw any inference it considers just and equitable, including that the right was infringed (reg 5(3)). This does not apply to a dismissal where the employee is entitled to written reasons under section 92 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (reg 5(4)).

Successive contracts: when fixed term becomes permanent

Where a fixed-term contract has been renewed, or follows an earlier fixed-term contract, the term limiting its duration has no effect and the employee is a permanent employee if they have been continuously employed under it, or under it together with earlier fixed-term contracts, for four years or more, and the use of a fixed-term contract was not justified on objective grounds when it was last renewed or, if not renewed, when it was entered into (reg 8(1) and (2)). A collective agreement or workforce agreement can change these rules, for example by setting a different maximum period or number of renewals (reg 8(5)).

An employee who considers they have become permanent can ask in writing for a statement confirming it. Within twenty-one days the employer must give either that statement or a statement of reasons why the contract remains fixed term, including any objective grounds relied on (reg 9(1) and (2)). After making that request, and while still employed, the employee can apply to an employment tribunal for a declaration that they are permanent (reg 9(5) and (6)). Long AI programmes renewed year by year should be checked against this rule.

Making a claim

An employee can complain to an employment tribunal that the employer infringed a right under regulation 3 (reg 7(1)). The complaint must be presented within six months of the treatment, or the last of a series of similar acts; for the vacancy right, within six months of the last date others were told of the vacancy. There is an extension for Acas early conciliation, and the tribunal may hear a late claim if it is just and equitable (reg 7(2) to (3)). The six-month period was substituted from 1 October 2026 by SI 2026/758, which has transitional provisions, so check which period applies to treatment before that date. It is for the employer to identify the ground for the treatment (reg 7(6)).

If the complaint succeeds, the tribunal can make a declaration, order compensation and recommend action to reduce the adverse effect (reg 7(7)). Compensation is what is just and equitable, including expenses and lost benefits, and for a breach of regulation 3 it does not include injury to feelings (reg 7(8) to (10)).

Practical steps

• Employers: when hiring for an AI project, write down why the role is fixed term and what ends it. Give project staff the same access to training, systems and benefits as comparable permanent staff unless there is an objective reason not to, and record it. Make sure they can see internal vacancies. Track how long each person has been on successive contracts.
• Employees: keep copies of every contract and renewal. Watch for permanent roles in your workplace and ask to be told of them. If you are excluded from something permanent colleagues get, ask in writing for the reasons. If you have four years or more on renewed contracts, consider asking for a statement under regulation 9. For notice when the contract ends early, see statutory notice periods; if you also work part time, see part-time workers' rights. If you were placed by an agency rather than hired directly, see agency workers' rights.

This page is general information on the law in Great Britain as at 1 November 2026, not legal advice.