Guides · United Kingdom · recruiters, HR & hiring managers
Fixed-term contract duration wording in job adverts: literacy for recruiters, not a verdict
Project roles, grant-funded posts and cover assignments are often genuinely fixed-term — but job boards still default to “Permanent” in structured fields. When the title says “Administrator” while the body mentions a six-month FTC ending in March, candidates apply on the wrong assumption. This guide helps you read fixed-term, end-date and extension wording on UK job advert drafts before publish. Wording hygiene only — not employment-law advice.
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Why duration wording matters pre-publish
Fixed-term clarity is a candidate-trust issue and a board-metadata issue. Job boards expose contract type separately from free text; contradictions create unnecessary churn in screening.
Related patterns:
- Maternity cover wording — reason-named cover vs generic FTC.
- Probation period wording — do not confuse probation with fixed term.
- Part-time hours wording — pro-rata end dates.
Common patterns on UK drafts
| Pattern | Candidate read | Rewrite toward |
|---|---|---|
| “Fixed-term contract” in body only | Permanent role | FTC in title or contract-type field where board allows |
| “6 months initially” without end date | May convert | Named end month/year or project milestone |
| “Possible extension” | Guaranteed renewal | “Extension subject to funding/approval” if accurate |
| “Until project completion” | Vague end | Expected window or review date |
| Permanent title + FTC body | Mismatch | Align title, metadata and person spec |
Board fields vs body copy
- Extract contract type from title, structured widget, and benefits paragraph.
- Mark whether each line states FTC, permanent, or unclear.
- Resolve before multi-board publish — paste draft text first.
- Run the pre-publish checklist.
Agency desks and client briefs
Clients sometimes reuse permanent templates for grant posts — client brief vs agency job ad. Normalise FTC language before API publish to boards.
Overlap with leave and pay lines
Short FTCs still need clear holiday pro-rata wording — annual leave wording. Commission or OTE lines on short contracts need extra clarity — commission and base salary wording.
What this guide is not
- Not legal advice on successive fixed-term contracts or redundancy.
- Not Equality Act clearance — flags prompt human review only.
- Not HR policy on when to use FTC vs permanent — advert wording only.
Questions
Should the end date appear in the job title?
When the role is fixed-term, candidates benefit from seeing duration or end date near the title or salary band — not only in paragraph five. Align board fields and body copy before publish.
Is maternity cover the same as a generic FTC?
Cover ads often name the reason and expected duration. Read maternity cover guides separately; do not hide FTC nature behind permanent-sounding titles.
Does VacancyCheck advise on unfair dismissal risk?
No. VacancyCheck is a wording risk report on pasted draft text. It is not legal advice and not Equality Act clearance.
Related guides
All guides: /guides/. Start with pre-publish checklist.