Until now, it has been widely understood that the expiry of a fixed term contract would count towards triggering the obligation to collectively consult about redundancies. This is because the definition of "redundancies" in section 195 of TULR(C)A 1992 is a very broad one involving any dismissal which is not related to the individual concerned.
However, in the case of University of Stirling v University and College Union, involving the expiry of four fixed term contracts the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that "a reason which is not related to the individual" meant something which was not to do with the employee himself or something the employee had done. The EAT held that these four employees were dismissed because they had agreed with their employer that their employment would end on a certain date and that this was a reason relating to them as individuals, so it was not within the definition in section 195 of TULR(C)A and did not trigger collective consultation.
However, the EAT went on to say that in circumstances where the non-renewal of the fixed term contract was because of a business decision resulting in job losses, this might still trigger collective consultation.
In our view, this case simply adds a layer of confusion to the matter and it is still safest to count non-renewal of fixed term contracts towards the trigger for collective consultation in circumstances where the fixed term contracts expire within 90 days of redundancies.
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