Secondments

Secondments are one way of helping your organisation to respond to temporary changes in business needs.

For example:

  • You may have a specific project to be completed or a particular problem to be addressed
  • You may need to backfill a post if someone goes on long-term leave due to maternity, sickness, sabbatical, etc.

A secondment is an alternative to temporary contracts in these types of situations.  It can provide a development opportunity for staff and a nice change as well.

If you plan to use a secondment, you should issue a contract to set out all the arrangements.  You should think about practical issues such as who will line manage the person who is seconded, what happens if there are issues with performance, how to manage extending or shortening the secondment period, etc.

We provide template contracts for secondments as well as information for managers.