Practical Law ANZ Glossary w-001-8216 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Fixed term employment contract
At its highest level, a "fixed term employment contract" is a contract for a specified term that automatically ends when the term expires. The term of a fixed term employment contract can be defined by reference to:
A specific start and end date.
A specific period of time.
An event happening.
A set project.
At the federal level, there are different types of fixed term employment contracts depending on:
The existence, and scope, of a contractual provision allowing for the termination of the contract before the specified term automatically expires. A:
"true" fixed term employment contract does not contain a broad or unconditional right of either party to terminate the contract during the specified term;
maximum term employment contract (also sometimes known as maximum duration or outer time limit employment contract) does contain a provision providing one party, or both parties, with a broad or unconditional right to terminate the contract during the specified term.
The regulatory framework being applied to the relevant contract, with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) expressly referring to:
contracts for a specified period, task or season in various sections. This statutory language has generally been interpreted to refer to "true" fixed term employment contracts; and
contracts that terminate at the end of an identifiable period, for the purpose of imposing requirements and limitations on the use of such contracts.