From 1st May 2021 all Fieldwork staff at Wessex Archaeology have been offered permanent contracts. These contracts offer greater stability and reflect our belief that we can now manage our business without such a high degree of workforce flexibility.
As commercial archaeologists, we play a critical role in facilitating key infrastructure projects and managing the historic environment across other areas of major economic activity, like renewables and housing.
Historically, fieldwork appointments have been on a fixed term contract basis due to the very variable nature of the work supply. Although the profession has matured and our ability to predict our workflows has improved, fixed term contracts have persisted throughout the sector. We now believe that we can manage our business without such a high degree of workforce flexibility.
As the leading archaeology organisation in the UK, we believe that it is important to make continuous efforts to improve the working environment for our staff. We want archaeology to be a viable and enjoyable career option, which supports and enhances the wellbeing of the professionals within it.
We hope that this change will provide greater stability in the lives of our fieldwork teams, better access to mortgages/finance, a greater sense of belonging to the Wessex team and the confidence to put down roots.