Fixed Term Civil Service

[DunkFriesinShake]

Couple of questions about fixed term positions:

are you eligible to apply for internal jobs when you are on fixed term? And if so, is there a minimum time before you can apply?

do fixed twrm ever get extended or do they always automatically end?

many thanks!

Are they recruiting through fair and open competition? It should be stated on the job ad.

No. You can't apply for internal expressions of interest roles.
Exceptions may exists but they usually say substantive staff only.
At the end of your fixed term it's going to depend on the contract you have. Ours recently had to apply for their own jobs as there were fewer perm roles than the number of fta's we recruited (for the increased workload during Covid)

Ours had to apply for the permanent positions and most were successful.

There was also a lot of support given to them for the application and interview prep.

My friend recently started CS on a fixed term and after 3 weeks she got an email to say she had been made perm.

In my experience- yes and yes.

As above, someone employed on a fixed term basis can apply for permanent jobs and may get their status changed.

But it does depend on circumstances, if the original recruitment is in ‘fair and open competition’ as mentioned above then that helps with your eligibility for other advertised posts

Sometimes a post is advertised as fixed term as that was all they could justify in order to get authority to create a role, but then the management pursue making the role permanent (which does not guarantee the incumbent gets to keep the role and to become permanent)
At other times it truely is a fixed term requirement which naturally becomes a
longer need, and at other times the role sticks to its fixed term and if you have not moved on then your employment ends

Don’t take a fixed term role purely hoping that it becomes permanent, but it can happen and worst case you have your foot in the door with the option of continuing to look and apply for other roles

Thanks. I only ask because I would be leaving a secure job to go for the fixed term so I wondered what the potential options are. I’m a really close match for the role so I think my chances are high but I’m not willing to send myself off into unemployment in 12 months. So perhaps I have my answer.