Short Term Contracts.

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Anybody who has seeking work for a long period will know that there is a scarcity of jobs out there. They will have also noticed that many jobs now advertised are on short term contracts,  This has been the norm for a number of years.This is particularly prevalent in the manufacturing industry.

This means that people on short term contracts have no idea how long their employment will go on and could be renewing their contract daily. (Though I believe the norm is based the period they are paid weekly, fortnightly or Monthly.

To my knowledge there been no major investigation in to the amount of short term contracts, either in Wales or the UK. Which I find perplexing.

I therefore call any Trade Unionist, Political Party, individual MP, or AM to ask for the following Questions.

• How many people in the UK/Wales are employed on short term contracts?

• What percentage is this of the total UK/Welsh workforce?

• What is the difference between increment/service pay between people on full time and short term contracts?

• What is the average period of employment on someone on such a contract before the employee contact is permanently ended?

This will be difficult. Often at the end of the year (just before the Christmas Holidays people are dismissed, only to be reemployed a few weeks later with a different “Clock Number”

• How many people on short term contracts are dismissed in this way (Therefore  receiving no holiday pay) only to be reemployed in the new year?

• What is the longest period anyone has spent on such a contract? 

• How often are people on short term contracts are eventually  offered full employment?

• How often people from outside the company  are offered employment on full term contracts even though there are already people working there on short term contracts?

I know of at least one case where someone working for a state owned company who as been doing the exact job for 3 years on a short term contract who was ignored in favour of a new applicant.

•  When redundancies are taken into account, or plant closures announced to what extent is the true nature of this ignored because the extent of those who were employed on short term contracts hides  the actual total people who are now unemployed.

• What percentage of people who are on short term contracts are members of a Trade Union?

These questions need asking perhaps they haven’t been asked because the result may be too embarrassing.