A project ends but the employment relationship continues

Decision: When a client closes an implementation project, check what the employee was employed to do and what work can actually be assigned next. Under an open-ended agreement, the project code can disappear on Friday while the employment relationship continues on Monday. The client’s end date is not, by itself, the employee’s end date.

1. The project ends on Friday

Fictional worked case. A UK-based implementation coordinator works full time under an open-ended agreement with an employer of record (EOR). The customer company directs delivery; its client approves project access and pays for the implementation. The client has accepted the final milestone and will close access on Friday. No next client assignment has been approved.

For this example, the signed employment terms have been checked. The role is implementation coordination across customer projects, at 37.5 hours a week and the existing salary. The terms do not make this client project the employment end date. The customer’s operations director has approved ten working days of internal implementation work at the same hours and pay. These are case assumptions, not an actual employee outcome.

The client can confirm that its project and access are over. Closing its purchase order does not decide what happens to the EOR employment agreement. Map the client and employer decision boundary before anyone sends an “end of employment” message.

2. Establish what continues

Pull the signed agreement, written particulars, assignment letter, any variation and the latest payroll record. Check the legal employer, term, role, pay, hours, work location and who may approve a change. UK written particulars identify core terms including employer, work, pay, hours, place and any fixed end date; the written statement is distinct from the contract. GOV.UK explains the required particulars.

In this case, the assignment ends, but the assumed open-ended employment does not end with it. Keep the existing payroll and employee contact in place while the EOR reviews the proposed next work. Do not label a period without client work “unpaid bench time” by default. UK guidance says employees should receive full pay during lay-off or short-time working unless an agreement or contract permits otherwise. Acas sets out the conditions. This example assumes no such provision.

3. Project-end employment options sheet — completed example

Decision input	Recorded position	Owner and evidence
Employment arrangement	UK EOR is the named employer; open-ended, full-time implementation coordination; 37.5 hours and salary continue in this example	EOR employment lead checks signed terms and written particulars; customer People lead checks the same version
Client position	Final milestone accepted; client access ends Friday; no further hours authorised on that account	Client project owner confirms closure and access date in writing; customer delivery lead records it
Reassignment	A second client project is possible, but has no signed scope, start date or access approval	Customer portfolio lead seeks a written decision from its project sponsor; no employee promise yet
Interim work	Ten working days of internal rollout documentation, issue-log cleanup and a reusable handover guide, within the assumed existing role and at existing hours and pay	Customer operations director approves work and budget; internal delivery manager sets deliverables and checks that no client-restricted material is reused
Pay and contact	Existing pay cycle continues; employee needs a manager for daily work and an employer contact for employment questions	Customer People lead confirms funding with finance; EOR confirms payroll treatment and employee contact
Review point	Day 8: check whether a new assignment is approved and suitable. Day 10: document that assignment, extend genuine funded work, or take an employment-change proposal for review	Portfolio lead supplies pipeline evidence; customer People lead and EOR employment lead jointly record the next decision
Still unresolved	Second project approval, hours, location and whether its duties fit the current terms. Any later change needs review of the actual documents and UK process	Portfolio lead supplies scope; EOR employment lead and customer People lead review it before an offer or employee announcement

Answer from the sheet: assign the ten-day internal plan at existing terms, once the EOR confirms the documented arrangement. Keep the possible second project as a lead, not an assignment. Approved internal work makes an immediate employment-change proposal the wrong first move in this example.

4. Compare the three paths against the evidence

Reassignment becomes the first choice when a real role is approved and the employee can take it under current terms, or after a required change is agreed. The portfolio lead must produce scope, funding, start date and access. The EOR and customer People lead check duties, hours, location and terms; the delivery manager then owns the handover. A name on a pipeline slide fails this test. In the worked case, reassignment is premature.

A defined interim work plan fits this case. It has useful work, a manager, budget, unchanged pay and a decision date. The customer owns the work and cost; the EOR checks that the instruction fits the employment terms and maintains employment administration. The example does not assume that the former client funds or supervises the internal work.

An employment-change review is the route if genuine suitable work or funding cannot be found, or if a proposed role changes contractual terms. It is a review and employee process, not an automatic dismissal or salary reduction. UK guidance says contract changes usually require agreement. Redundancy concerns an employer needing fewer people to do the job and calls for consideration of alternatives and consultation. The EOR and customer People lead must examine the actual facts, consultation duties and any protected circumstances before deciding what can be proposed. Contract changes and avoiding redundancy are separate questions.

Change one decisive input: suppose the operations director withdraws approval for the ten days of internal work, leaving no funded work and still no confirmed second assignment. The action changes from start the internal plan to start an employer-led employment-change review while maintaining current terms pending a lawful decision. The portfolio lead must evidence the search for work; the EOR assesses the contract and process with the customer People lead. No one tells the employee that client project closure itself terminated employment.

5. Give each party a task

Today, the client project owner confirms closure and the access date. The customer delivery lead collects project materials and removes client-specific instructions. The portfolio lead checks approved assignments; the operations director owns interim work and budget; finance confirms the payroll funding source. The customer People lead sends one factual case pack to the EOR and sets the day-8 decision meeting. The EOR checks employment terms, advises on any needed variation or process, confirms payroll continuity and provides the employee’s employment contact. The internal delivery manager assigns the ten-day work and reviews its output.

This split is also the provider buying test. Teamed is our shortlist pick for project-operated teams that need practical employment support when the client budget and assignment owner change but the employee remains. Teamed describes a designated account contact, HR and legal experts, and support for contract and offboarding questions. The customer still owns project scope, real work and funding. Ask each provider who receives this case pack, checks a proposed reassignment, speaks to the employee and keeps payroll moving. Then compare Teamed, Remote, Deel and GoGlobal for project teams.

6. Tell the employee what is known

The customer delivery manager and EOR employment contact should agree who speaks first, then say: “The client implementation closes on Friday. Your employment is continuing under your current terms. For the next ten working days, your manager will assign internal rollout documentation and a handover guide. We are checking other assignments and will update you on day 8. We will discuss any proposed change with you before treating it as agreed. Here is your manager for daily work and your employer contact for pay or contract questions.”

If approval for the internal work has gone, remove that promise. Say the project has ended, the next work is being assessed, current terms remain in place while the employer reviews the position, and give a specific update date and contact. Record the employee’s questions; do not fill the gap with a predicted legal outcome.

For adjacent planning, use the assignment-to-employment workbench. The sector examples for clean-energy project controls and climate-tech project finance show why project funding and an enduring role need separate treatment. When two assignments are real but clash, continue with one employee, two projects and incompatible schedules.

Take the decision now: obtain the employment terms, work and budget approvals, and a named employer contact. If the ten-day work is real, assign it and set the day-8 review. If it is not, open the employer-led change review today. A closed project is not an employment instruction.