Leaving

Fixed-term contract ending: notice of non-renewal letter

Tells a fixed-term employee that their contract will end on its expiry date and will not be renewed, with the reason and any redundancy entitlement.

A contract with an end date is approaching that date and you are not renewing it. In law, expiry without renewal is a dismissal, so it needs a fair reason (usually the end of the task or funding, which is often redundancy) and a fair process: a conversation, this letter, and an appeal.

Before it goes

  • You have checked service: if the employee has two years or more (including any previous contracts), statutory redundancy pay may be due if the reason is redundancy, and unfair dismissal protection applies.
  • You have considered whether there is other work they could do, and whether you have been treating them less favourably than permanent staff.
  • The contract's own notice provisions have been checked; some fixed-term contracts also require notice before expiry.

The letter

[COMPANY NAME] [COMPANY ADDRESS] [DATE] [EMPLOYEE NAME] [EMPLOYEE ADDRESS] Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME], Expiry of your fixed-term contract on [END DATE] I am writing further to our conversation on [MEETING DATE] about your fixed-term contract as [JOB TITLE], which is due to end on [END DATE]. As you know, the contract was for [PURPOSE, e.g. the duration of the [PROJECT] / to cover [NAME]'s maternity leave / a period of 12 months funded by …]. [THE REASON IT IS ENDING, e.g. The project completes on [DATE]. / [NAME] returns to work on [DATE]. / The funding ends on [DATE] and has not been renewed.] I am sorry to confirm that the company is not in a position to renew or extend your contract, and your employment will therefore end on [END DATE]. We have considered whether there is any other suitable role for you in the company. [There is no suitable vacancy at present. / The following roles are currently open: …; if you would like to be considered, please tell me by [DATE].] If a suitable vacancy arises before [END DATE], we will let you know. [Where the contract requires notice: This letter constitutes the [NOTICE PERIOD] notice required by clause [NUMBER] of your contract.] On termination you will receive your pay to [END DATE], payment for [NUMBER] days of accrued but untaken holiday, [and, as the reason for the ending of your contract is redundancy and you have [NUMBER] complete years' service, a statutory redundancy payment of [£ AMOUNT]]. Your P45 will follow. Please return [COMPANY PROPERTY] by your last day. You have the right to appeal against this decision. If you wish to appeal, write to [APPEAL MANAGER NAME] at [ADDRESS / EMAIL] within five working days of receiving this letter. Thank you for your work on [PROJECT / during your time with us]. I would be glad to provide a reference, and if a suitable position arises in the future I hope you would consider applying. Yours sincerely, [MANAGER NAME] [JOB TITLE] [COMPANY NAME]

Filling it in

The reason
The task, the cover, the funding. If the truth is that you no longer need someone in that role, it is redundancy and redundancy pay may be due after two years.
Service
Count continuous service across successive contracts. A gap of a week does not break it.

What the law says

  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.95(1)(b): expiry of a limited-term contract without renewal is a dismissal.
  • Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002: fixed-term employees must not be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees; after four years of successive fixed-term contracts, the employee is normally treated as permanent.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.139: redundancy means the business or workplace closing, or the requirement for employees to do work of a particular kind ceasing or diminishing.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.86: statutory minimum notice of one week per complete year of service, up to twelve weeks; the contract may give more.
Guidance, not legal advice. Employment law moves; check the current position before relying on any of it, and take advice on anything that could end someone's employment.

What turns this letter into a claim

  • Do not let the date pass and then tell them. It is a dismissal; treat it as one, with a meeting, a letter and an appeal.
  • Do not renew someone on a fourth or fifth fixed term without realising they may already be permanent in law.

Questions people ask

Do I owe redundancy pay when a fixed-term contract ends?

If the employee has two or more years' continuous service and the reason the contract is not renewed is that the work has ended or diminished, yes. If the reason is genuinely something else (the person they were covering has returned), it is not redundancy, but it is still a dismissal that needs a fair reason.

Do I need to give notice if the contract has an end date?

The contract ends on its date without further notice unless the contract itself requires notice. But the employee is entitled to know in good time, and fairness usually means telling them at least the statutory notice period ahead.

The letter, with the names already in

Employ AI drafts letters like this one from the employee's record, so the dates, service and pay are already right, and the disciplinary module writes the invitation and outcome letters from the case itself. All 44 letter families, 49 UK policies, GPS clock-in, rotas, leave and timesheets: £2.50 a month plus £1 per employee. 14 days free, no card.

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