Fixed-term employees: Policy of termination after 51 weeks' service not unlawful

In Department for Work and Pensions v Webley, the Court of Appeal holds:

• An employer's recruitment practice of refusing to renew fixed-term employment contracts, simply because 51 weeks of service had elapsed ("the 51-week rule"), was not an unlawful abuse of the Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002.
• The essence of a fixed-term contract is that it comes to an end on the expiry of a fixed term. The employer was not obliged to extend/renew the fixed-term contract or to convert it into an indefinite contract.