The Act, which came into operation on 14th July 2003, implements the provisions of the EU Directive on fixed term work.  Its main objective is to ensure that fixed-term employees are not treated less favourably than their ‘comparable permanent’ colleagues in respect of terms and conditions of employment, including pay, pensions, entitlement to sick pay, overtime, etc.

The Act also aims to eliminate the practice of keeping employees on successive fixed-term contracts.