Unfair dismissal qualifying period for employees working under short, fixed-term contracts: Employment Forum’s recommendation and Minister’s response

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A decision made 14 December 2015:

Decision Reference: MD-S-2015-104
Decision Summary Title :	DS Two-thirds rule recommendation - Report to States		Date of Decision Summary:	14 December 2015
Decision Summary Author:	Policy Principal		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	WR Minister’s response to two-thirds rule recommendation		Date of Written Report:	14 December 2015
Written Report Author:	Policy Principal		Written Report: Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Short fixed-term contracts, unfair dismissal and the two-thirds rule – Report to the States
Decision(s): The Minister decided to present to the States the Employment Forum’s recommendation on short fixed-term contracts and the two-thirds rule, along with a record of her decision to accept that recommendation.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Minister directed the Employment Forum to consult on the unfair dismissal qualifying period for employees working under short fixed-term contracts, specifically on whether the ‘two-thirds rule’ should be removed from the Employment Law. Employees working under fixed-term contracts of 26 weeks or less qualify for protection against unfair dismissal after having served two-thirds of their contract and subject to having worked for at least 13 weeks. This means that an employee on a fixed-term contract of 26 weeks or less has the right to claim unfair dismissal much sooner than employees on other types of contracts. When the qualifying period for protection against unfair dismissal was increased from 26 weeks to 52 weeks on 1 January 2015, this inconsistency was exacerbated and so the Minister had directed the Forum to consult on the impact of removing the two-thirds rule. The Forum has consulted and presented its recommendation to the Minister, as required by Article 19 of the Employment Law, and the Minister has decided to lay a copy of that report before the States, along with a record of her decision to accept the recommendation.
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications.
Action required: Policy Principal to request the Greffier of the States to arrange for the Minister’s response (the written report) and the Forum’s recommendation (the supporting document) to be presented together as a Report to the States at the earliest opportunity (the Minister’s response to appear first). Policy Principal to arrange the media release and public circulation of the Forum’s recommendation on 15 December.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):