MUCH has recently been said about the tough life of a football manager and the short-term job expectancy. However, there is no doubt that in many cases, this is offset by terms and conditions that most employees could only dream of.
Pay is obviously one such term, but the fixed term of the contract offers significant protection when a manager is dismissed not long into his tenure.
Having dealt with a number of football clubs and managers, I have seen this first hand.
Managers often hold the aces when negotiating their appointment and clubs are very rarely in a position to dismiss without compensation, which is usually in the form of a payment in lieu of notice.
Take the case of Henning Berg, who the courts have recently ordered must receive £2.25 million from Blackburn Rovers in respect of 2.5 years' notice pay. Not bad for 57 days' work.
Many clubs can only avoid these huge compensation payments in circumstances of gross misconduct.
Unfortunately, a string of poor results does not fall into this category and it is unlikely that any manager would enter into a contract which could be terminated early without compensation, when results are poor.
Undoubtedly, many clubs would prefer a rolling one-year contract but often they have no choice if they are intent on getting a certain individual who knows how desperate the club is to appoint them.
For any employment law-related issues, contact John Buchanan on 0115 9888 777 or visit www.fraserbrown.com for details of our upcoming HR forum on May 23, which will focus on the new Employment Tribunal rules of procedure.