Agreed Statement C1a1
1
Agreed Statement C1a1 Contracts of employment
1 Introduction
This statement sets out the basic elements of the continuing and fixed term
contracts of employment
2 Age of Retirement
With effect from 1st October 2006, staff who are employed on a continuing or
fixed term contract of employment have a contractual and a normal
retirement age of 65.
Staff have the right to request to continue working beyond their retirement
date and the BBC has a duty to give consideration to such requests.
Note : Prior to October 2006, the normal age of retirement was 60. Staff may
continue to choose to retire at age 60, or continue in employment up to the
age of 65. (Staff who wish to retire before age 65 should confirm the pension
options and benefits available to them with the Pensions and Benefits Centre)
Continuing contract of employment
3 The contract
A continuing contract is open-ended up to the normal retirement age of 65
unless terminated earlier by notice. It may be used for full-time or part-time
staff. The present form of staff contract was introduced on 31 January 1972
to replace Unestablished and Established contracts. The agreements
associated with contracts of staff established before 31 January 1972 remain
in force.
The Agreed Statements which describe terms and conditions of employment,
are incorporated into individual contracts.
Managers should decide when appointing staff whether a formal probationary
period is appropriate and, if so, to determine its length and method of
monitoring. This will depend on the nature of the job, its level of responsibility
and any specialised skills it requires. In most cases where newly-appointed
staff, or their work, are unknown to the BBC, good practice will be to
undertake a performance review after three or six months. This will be within
the framework of the appraisal procedures, will indicate any areas in which
performance needs to be improved and will indicate specific training needs.
When an