Fixed-Term Contracts After Closing Loopholes: A Practical Guide from Winnchester Consulting
Fixed-term contracts used to be a convenient way to “keep options open”. The Closing Loopholes reforms have changed that. Fixed-term arrangements are now more tightly regulated, and some temporary exceptions that many employers have relied on are expiring.
At Winnchester Consulting, we’re seeing more organisations caught off-guard by these changes than any other recent reform. This is an area worth getting on the front foot.
What’s different now?
Under the reforms, fixed-term contracts are constrained in two key ways:
How long they can run.
How many times they can be renewed.
There are exceptions – particularly where roles are genuinely tied to external funding or are time-bound for clear reasons. Sectors such as higher education and parts of the not-for-profit space have had additional exceptions, but many of those are due to expire in November.
From that point, some arrangements that felt “normal” will no longer be compliant.
Where we see organisations getting into trouble
Common patterns we’re seeing in client reviews include:
Long-term employees effectively being permanent, but still on rolling fixed-term contracts.
Assumptions that the end of external funding automatically ends employment, without considering redundancy.
Line managers quietly extending contracts “just for another 12 months”, without HR visibility.
All of these can create genuine legal and financial exposure.
Winnchester’s recommended approach
Build a clear picture of your fixed-term workforce
We start by creating a clean dataset:Every employee on a fixed-term contract.
Contract start and end dates, plus any prior contracts with you.
Funding source where relevant (e.g. grant, project, backfill).
Any reliance on specific exceptions.
Test whether exceptions still genuinely apply
For each role, we work with you to test:Does this arrangement still fall within a permitted exception, especially after November?
Is the work genuinely time-limited, or has it become part of your ongoing operations?
Where exceptions are falling away, we identify roles that will need to convert to ongoing or be properly exited.
Plan conversions and separations early
Rather than waiting until two weeks before a contract end date:Decide which roles represent ongoing headcount and should move to permanent employment, and when.
For truly time-limited roles, plan for a redundancy pathway if the work genuinely ends – including budgeting for severance.
Update templates and guardrails
Refresh your fixed-term templates so they reflect the new law and can’t be rolled over casually.
Introduce simple approval rules, for example: no fixed-term contract issued without People & Culture sign-off.
Build reminders and workflows into your HRIS so expiring contracts trigger a review, not an automatic extension.
Integrate this with workforce and budget planning
Especially in funding-reliant sectors, HR needs to be in the room early:Matching funding cycles to contract terms.
Modelling the cost of possible redundancies if programs are not renewed.
Considering a mix of ongoing and fixed-term roles that balances operational flexibility with compliance.
How we can support you
Winnchester Consulting can:
Conduct a one-off fixed-term workforce audit.
Design a simple fixed-term framework aligned with your risk appetite and funding model.
Help you convert appropriate roles to ongoing employment with clear communication and minimal disruption.
If you’re not confident about how many fixed-term employees you have – or why they’re fixed-term – that’s usually the sign it’s time for a review.
