From Monday the final provisions of the Fixed Term Employees Regulations come into force.

Any worker who has been with the company since 10 July 2002 and has had a fixed-term contract renewed will be automatically considered to be on a permanent contract.

The employee has the right to request, in writing, a statement from the employer confirming that the contract has become permanent.

Employers must respond to any such requests within 21 days, either confirming that the contract is now permanent or providing a statement explaining why the contract remains fixed-term.

The only way a contract can remain fixed-term after four years is if the employer can show an objective reason to justify keeping the employee as temporary. If the 21 day time period is not met or the reasons not objective, the employee can appeal to an employment tribunal.

Objective reasons can include the timing of a specific event – for example, a construction company might employ someone for a specific contract. But if the project is likely to last for more than four years, then any attempt to use fixed-term contracts to prevent the employee becoming permanent will fail.

The aim of the regulations is to close the loophole of having permanent employees on successive fixed-term contracts – the rule being that employers should not be using fixed-term contracts to regulate their core employees.

Provisions of the regulations which are already in force include giving temporary employees the same rights as permanent employees in areas such as pension rights, pay and training.

The regulations do not apply to temporary workers placed with an employer through an agency.