Continuous v Permanent Employment

Gazorpazorp

About 5 months ago I joined a large company.
The job I applied for was advertised as permanent, and I left a permanent job for this role.

After I started I realised that the role was not what I had expected, and more importantly that due to company strategy that the role would not exist for more than 18 months.

For the first three months, the head of the operation was reminding everyone that employee numbers were going to increase dramatically, that what you are doing now would transition into what was to come. He kept pointing out that there is a 25 year lease on the building, the capacity of the building is over 1000 people, and we only have 100. The global directive was to move work to Ireland.

This type of discussion has not been raised in the past 2 months.
The plan to expand has clearly not materialised.
The new plan is to have 300 employees in the building, however the company is closing down another facility in Ireland, and moving the staff from that facility to the office I work in. Current staff + Moving Staff = around 300.

Two of the people who started around the same time as me were told last week that they would not be required post March 2018. This was a shock to them - as they thought they had permanent contracts.
The role these people perform is not very technical. If they left in the morning they would be easily replaced. Maybe the company would not even replace them as there are 7 people doing the same job.

I am the only person doing what I do. The job is not overly difficult - but no one else in the company could replace me at this point. The company need me (for now) and are not in a position to communicate that information [surplus to requirements] to me.

Once the current strategic project is complete the role I now perform is 100% irrelevant. The knowledge I have, and the most valuable skill-set that I have to offer the company [Not my most valuable skill-set, which I cannot use in this role] is also irrelevant. I can do other jobs there, but I doubt they will need additional staff.

Long read- key question: my contract states “continuous employment” as opposed to permanent. Does this mean I am not a permanent employee?
Obviously I plan to leave this company in the near future (permanent does not matter when you will be made redundant), but I want to know if they planned to screw me from the start.

Jim2007

It's the same thing - it's an indefinite contract, it could last 6 months or 20 years, no one knows at the time the contract is made. If the only needed you for a short time I would have thought a fixed contract would have suited them better.

Victor

As an employee, you gain certain rights at 1 year and additional rights at 2 years, regardless of what your contract says.