UK: Repeated renewals of fixed term contract - justified if for recurring temporary cover

EU law requires the repeated use of fixed term contracts to be objectively justified.  In Great Britain employees who have been continuously employed for four years or more on a series of fixed-term contracts are automatically deemed to be permanent unless the employer can justify the continuing use of fixed-term contracts on objective grounds.

The ECJ has ruled that it may be justified to continue to use a fixed term contract for employees providing temporary cover for others on leave, even where (due to its size) the employer might need to employ temporary replacements on a recurring basis such that the replacements could have been given contracts of indefinite duration.  In contrast, the renewal of a fixed-term contract to cover permanent rather than temporary needs cannot be justified. The number of fixed-term contracts that the employee has worked under for the same employer and those contracts' cumulative duration will be a relevant factor in deciding the issue of justification. (Kücük v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, ECJ).