Anti-Casualisation (FTC and GTA)

Fixed-Term Contracts (FTC)

Key Information for Members

UMUCU has negotiated rights for staff employed on FTCs that are set out in the University’s Contracts of Employment Policy and Procedure (see also University statutes, especially Statute XIII, part I, section 2, paragraph d).

Fixed-term staff should be treated no less favourably than those on permanent contracts, for example in relation to pay, staff benefits, training, promotion, career development, redeployment and access to vacancies for permanent posts. Please contact us if you feel that you have been treated less favourably as a fixed-term member of staff.

You should be able to extend your FTC to cover for periods of parental leave or extended sickness absence, but there may be complications in individual cases: please contact us for advice if you encounter any difficulties.

Your line manager should discuss all possible options with you at least 4 months before the end of your FTC. You will also be eligible for redeployment from this date. If your employment on an FTC comes to an end after two more years of service, you are entitled to a statutory redundancy payment (the amount varies by age—it is one week’s pay for every full year of continuous service for anyone aged over 22 and under 41).

If you are a member of research staff, you can request to extend your access to email and e-resources for 12 months following the end of your FTC.

4 Years’ Service and Permanent Status

If you have 4 or more years of continuous service at the university, your employment may be permanent according to either UK law or university policy; your contract may therefore be converted to either a standard permanent contract or a finite-funded permanent contract (FFPC).

In the case of an FFPC, there is still a contract end date linked to finite external funding but, if you cannot find another post in the university or elsewhere, your employment will continue for 3 months after this date as an extended notice period (also known as an extended project period, or EPP), and you will be eligible for redeployment for a further 3 months if your employment ends. An FFPC consists of 2 letters: a letter confirming permanence and a separate letter stating the funding end or ‘at risk’ date.

There are two ways in which either a permanent contract or an FFPC can be achieved:

  1. After 4 or more years of continuous service on two or more contracts, you can request confirmation of permanence under the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 (see below). The University is obliged to confirm permanence unless it can advance an objective justification for the continued use of an FTC (against which there is a right of appeal).
  2. After 4 or more years of continuous service as a member of research staff, regardless of the number of contracts during this period, you should be automatically transferred to an FFPC under university policy (see Action 14; open ended contract is an old term for the FFPC). Please contact your line manager in the first instance if you do not receive confirmation of permanence. The University has also recently automatically converted a number of non-research staff to FFPCs.

Please contact us if you have received confirmation of permanence in the form of an FFPC, but you believe that your employment is not actually underpinned by finite external funding or for the sole purpose of completing a specific finite task.

Continuous service may include some gaps in employment, for example over the summer if your role involves teaching. Continuity has to be determined on a case-by-case basis, so please get in touch with us if you believe that the continuous employment as stated on your appointment letter is incorrect.

Requesting Confirmation of Permanence

Please use this template to request a confirmation of permanence from the University (when you click on the link, the template will be downloaded).

Read this additional information on the UCU website.

How to Join and Get Involved

Academic fixed-term staff and professional service staff at grade 6 and above can join UCU from just £1 a month (subscriptions vary with income).

We have a network of fixed-term members who are campaigning for better terms and conditions and greater employment security. Please contact us to join the group and receive the latest updates.

Further Information

The Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers is a set of standards adopted by the University but not fully endorsed by UCU due to its weak provisions on employment security.

Some additional University funding is available to research staff for dissemination and collaboration.

UCU’s anti-casualisation campaign at the UK level, including the researchers’ survival guide, and UK-level data.

Graduate Teaching Assistants

Why should I join the UCU as a University of Manchester GTA?

We are aware that GTAs often feel in a grey area at the University, as in the past they were neither well represented as students, nor as staff. Because of this, over the past few years we have been building on our UMUCU GTA network to ensure that GTA issues are heard, understood and represented at all levels.

What we have achieved:

  • Paid compulsory training for all GTAs across the University
  • Ensured all GTA contracts specify a minimum number of weekly hours to guarantee earnings
  • Passed a national motion at the UCU HESC campaigning for the wider recognition of the GTA contract within the UKCEA framework (which can be found here)
  • Guaranteed no loss of earnings for GTAs throughout the Coronavirus lockdown due to cancelled classes and the move to teaching online (this was extended to Semester 1 of the 2020/21 year)
  • Won sick pay for GTAs in Semester 1 of the 2020/21 academic year

Join today

UCU Membership for GTAs and PGRs is free for the first four years. Enrolled PhD students who are also contracted to teach at the higher education institution at which they are registered for their PhD studies.

Join here: www.ucu.org.uk/free

Membership Type: Standard Full Membership

Free Membership? Yes

Other helpful links

Know your rights as a Graduate Teaching Assistant

General UCU GTA and PGR Info

Want to be more involved with the GTA network? Contact us