Whisper it quietly, but Christmas is coming. As the country gets ready to shop for gifts and celebrate the festive season, retailers and hospitality are building up for their busiest time of year, with many employers turning to ‘Christmas temps’ to help deal with the increased demand. Here, I explore the employment rights of Christmas temps compared to their permanent counterparts.

The most obvious difference between a Christmas temp and a permanent employee is that temps will typically be on a fixed-term contract with a start and end date, usually starting in the weeks running up to Christmas and ending after the festive period is over (or possibly into January in retail, where there is increased footfall for the January sales).

The rights of Christmas temps are underpinned by the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 (the Fixed-term Employees Regulations). This ensures that those on fixed-term contracts cannot be excluded from the contractual benefits and facilities offered to permanent staff.

Christmas temps are also entitled to receive a section 1 ERA 1996 statement – which will outline the hours of work, pay, etc., as well as being entitled to the same ‘day one’ rights as permanent employees, such as the right to the National Minimum Wage and paid holiday. However, given that temps are unlikely to be able to take the time off, payment in lieu of the accrued leave is usually made at the end of the contract.

Those who perform well during a fixed-term contract may well be offered permanent employment after the festive period and they have a free-standing right to be informed of any permanent vacancies in the organisation under the Fixed-term Employees Regulations. However, should things not go to plan during the fixed-term contract, there will still be a notice period within the contract that will need to be adhered to – although this will typically be shorter than that of a permanent employee. The termination of a fixed-term contract is still a dismissal and would likely fall under either ‘redundancy’ or ‘some other substantial reason’ in relation to the potentially fair reason for dismissal.

Employers must also remember that Christmas temps have the same right not to be discriminated against as permanent employees. Less favourable treatment of a temporary worker or harassment on the grounds of sex, race, disability or any other ‘protected characteristic’ will be unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 no matter how temporary the contract. Also, Christmas temps will have statutory protection against dismissal or detrimental treatment if they have ‘blown the whistle’ on some unlawful practice and have made a protected public interest disclosure.

Overall, while a Christmas temp’s tenure may be short, their employment rights and entitlements aren’t significantly different from their permanent colleagues, meaning it’s vital that employers follow the right protocols to make sure that all statements and documentation relating to their contract are in place before employment commences.