Fixed-term reality: the sector's structural bottleneck
About half of UK conservation posts advertised in the Icon Salary Survey 2024 and the CJS 2026 vacancy sample are fixed-term. The headline is project funding; the consequence is broken pension accrual, mortgage friction and limited statutory redundancy.
Employer-by-employer FTC ratio (vacancy sample)
- RSPB: about 50 percent FTC
- Wildlife Trusts (federation): about 55 percent FTC
- National Trust: about 35 percent FTC plus heavy seasonal cohort
- Natural England: about 30 percent FTC
- Defra core: about 22 percent FTC
- Environment Agency: about 18 percent FTC
- Forestry England: about 20 percent FTC
- Local authority: about 25 percent FTC
What FTC means in practice
Pension accrual: alpha and LGPS both accrue from day one of an FTC; many NGO DC schemes also do. The risk is multiple short FTCs without continuous accrual building a meaningful pot. Statutory redundancy: an FTC of less than 2 years gives no statutory redundancy pay if the contract simply ends; an FTC that is renewed and ended later may qualify. Mortgage applications: most lenders require evidence of contract renewal or remaining term > 6 months before approval; conservation FTC workers often face stricter affordability tests.
Fixed-Term Employees Regulations 2002
FTER 2002 entitles fixed-term employees to no less favourable treatment than comparable permanent employees on pay, holiday, sick pay and most contractual terms. After 4 years of continuous FTC service with the same employer, the post must be deemed permanent unless the use of FTC is objectively justified.