Respondent declining to renew fixed term contract after repeated renewals without consulting applicant. The applicant had a reasonable expectation that his contract would be renewed. The more frequently the employer renews a fixed term contract, the more likely it is that an employee will acquire such an expectation. The mere fact that the contract contains a clause saying that its renewal should not be construed as creating an expectation of renewal is not in itself to prove that the employee did not acquire a reasonable expectation other factors might include the nature of the employer’s business and the failure to give reasonable notice that the contract will not be renewed.

fixed term contract
The applicant’s contract had been renewed for different periods six times in seven years, without a break in service. Given all these factors, the applicant’s expectation of a further renewal was reasonable. The employee had, accordingly, proved that he had been dismissed.
The applicant was, accordingly, entitled at the very least to a hearing before his services were finally terminated. If the respondent’s operational requirements had changed, he should have been consulted. The applicant’s dismissal was accordingly procedurally unfair. The applicant was awarded compensation.
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