Continuous service

Find a definition of continuous service, and understand whether it applies to a staff member who is moving between a maintained school and an academy.

Last reviewed on 24 April 2023
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 30181
Contents
  1. What is continuous service?
  2. Moving between employers
  3. Calculating redundancy payments

What is continuous service?

It's when an employee has worked for the same employer without a break.

Continuous service is calculated from the first day of work. Certain employee rights depend on length of service, including:

Certain types of time away from work still count towards a continuous employment period and aren’t counted as a break in employment. These include:

  • Sickness leave
  • Maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave
  • Annual leave
  • Time between unfair dismissal and an employee being reinstated
  • Military service, for example with a reserve force
  • When an employee moves between 'associated employers' (see the section below to find out who counts as an 'associated employer')
  • When a business is transferred from 1 employer to another (such as if a maintained school converts to an academy)

This information comes from GOV.UK.

The Green Book sets out specific rules on continuous service for support staff. It says continuous service includes continuous previous service with any public authority