Q&As

Lawfulness of Higher Pay for Fixed-Term vs Permanent Employees

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Produced in partnership with Peter Edwards of Devereux Chambers
Published on: 13 March 2020

Is it lawful for an employer to pay an employee on a fixed-term contract more than an employee on a permanent contract of employment?

In the first instance, the relevant statutory provisions which apply in these circumstances are, of course, the Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations, SI 2002/2034 (FTE Regulations 2002).

One needs, however, to consider that there are two different types of Discrimination provisions: those that protect all employees (ie universal provisions) and those that protect only a specified, defined group.

An example of the former is section 11 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010), which defines the protection afforded to the protected characteristic of sex. All employees of both sexes enjoy the protection. Hence, both male and female employees can pursue claims of Sex discrimination if the factual matrix Warrants such a claim. The same applies to the protected characteristics of, for example, race and age. All employees of every age and race potentially enjoy the protections afforded by EqA 2010

Peter Edwards
Peter Edwards chambers

Devereux Chambers

Peter Edwards is one of the few senior practitioners with a specialism and a thriving practice in both of the complimentary fields of employment law and personal injury. "Noted for cases at the intersection of personal injury and employment law" by Legal 500 2017, he has extensive experience of dealing with ' and cross-examining ' medical experts and is at a particular advantage when dealing with cases involving both areas of law (for example, stress-at-work/workplace injury cases in the High Court and Disability Discrimination claims in the ET and at Appellate-level). He is ranked in both major Directories in personal injury and employment: "He's excellent. If it's a difficult case he'll handle it with absolute aplomb." ' Chambers UK 2017. "He is able to give to provide accurate, focused and succinct advice." ' Legal 500. 'His attention to detail and ability to get to the crux of a case are second to none.' 'Decisive, down-to-earth and robust.' -Chambers UK 2018.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Contract of employment definition
What does Contract of employment mean?

The contract of employment which governs the employment relationship between the employer and the employee.

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