How do you take on summer or Christmas staff without a mess when the season ends? Use a proper fixed-term contract with a clear end point, run the same day-one paperwork as any hire, handle holiday pay the tidy way, and treat the ending as what it legally is: a dismissal that needs a reason and a little process. Cafes that do those four things simply do not have a January problem.
The contract: fix the term properly
A fixed-term contract can end on a date (“to 30th September 2026”) or on an event (“the end of the summer season, expected in late September”). Date-based is cleaner. Include an early termination clause with a short notice period, so a season that ends early does not leave you paying for October, and state plainly that the contract is not expected to be renewed. Seasonal staff get the same written statement of terms on or before day one, the same right-to-work check (penalties up to £60,000 per worker), and the correct age-band minimum wage, which matters because seasonal teams skew young.
Holiday: rolled-up is your friend
Seasonal staff accrue holiday from day one at 12.07% of hours worked. For a three-month engagement the tidy option is rolled-up holiday pay: a separate, itemised 12.07% uplift on every payslip, lawful for irregular-hours and part-year workers. Nothing left to calculate in the final week, no accrued-but-untaken argument in October.
Equal treatment while they are with you
The Fixed-term Employees Regulations require that fixed-term employees are not treated less favourably than comparable permanent staff without justification: the same hourly rates, the same tips allocation (they are covered by the tips law like everyone else), the same breaks. And if someone racks up four years of continuous successive fixed-term contracts they generally become permanent, which is worth knowing if the same people return season after season.
The ending: expiry is still a dismissal
Letting a fixed-term contract expire is, in law, a dismissal. The fair reason is usually the end of the seasonal need, and the process is proportionate: a short conversation before the end date confirming the season is closing, the end date, and that the reason is the work ending, followed by a confirming letter. Today that formality matters mainly for employees with two years of service, but from 1st January 2027 the Employment Rights Act cuts the unfair dismissal qualifying period to six months, which a long season plus a late finish can reach. Build the small process in now and the law change costs you nothing.
Keep the good ones warm
Ask good leavers if you can keep their details for next season (that is their consent, noted), give them a decent reference, and tell them the reopening month. The cheapest seasonal recruitment campaign is the one you do not have to run.
Want a hand with this?
Book a free 15-minute call and we will tell you what applies to your situation and what to do first. Ad-hoc advice is £125/hr + VAT, billed in 15-minute increments.
General guidance for UK employers, correct at 22nd July 2026. Not advice on a specific situation. More guides for your sector: HR for cafes and coffee shops. Not sure where your gaps are? Check your HR Risk Score in 3 minutes.
