Fire and Rehire - will a new law be passed to crack down on exploitative employers?
MP Barry Gardiner's Bill is on its way through parliament, but whether it succeeds in its current form is doubtful, as it doesn't appear to have government support as it stands.
Fire and Rehire - time for change?
Dismissal and re-engagement, or as it it better known, fire and rehire, is an often used tactic whereby businesses seek to change terms and conditions of employment, more often than not, to the detriment of workers.
A poll for the Trades Union Congress in January 2021 estimated that 9% of workers had been told to re-apply for jobs on worse terms since March 2020, with higher rates among young and BME workers. This is not an insignificant number.
Well known Labour MP, Barry Gardiner, has introduced the Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill to Parliament. It is currently being debated before the vote on the second reading.
Most commentators believe the tactic of using fire and rehire is immoral and has no place in the modern workplace. Workers are at a disadvantage and are often left with the with a stark choice - ‘These are your new terms - take them or leave them’.
Alan Bogg, Professor of Labour Law, Oxford University, neatly sets out the position:
Sanctity of contract would demand that current terms and conditions guaranteed by the employment contract should be protected from unilateral downgrading by the employer. If the securing of the contractual bargain means anything, it surely means this. Many of the businesses who are guilty of this practice are not necessarily suffering financially and are simply using the tactic to erode workers rights and increase profits.1
Although we have general protections against unilateral changes to the detriment of workers, i.e. breach of contract, unfair dismissal and mandatory consultation in redundancy situations (20+ employees), it is widely regarded that the employer still has the upper hand.
Over the past few months Mr Gardiner has embarked on a national tour of Great Britain in support of his Bill, involving rallies, events and visits to affected employees. The Bill is supported by over twenty trade unions, many of whom are also funding Mr Gardiner’s campaign and he has a campaign website - Stop Fire and Rehire.
The Bill would:
Introduce a new duty for employers to consult employees in certain situations when they might be looking to dismiss or change the work terms of 15 or more employees. Any changes to an employment contract aren’t valid unless this consultation was done;
Provide additional employee protections, by:
prohibiting employers from including in employment contracts a right to vary terms in ways less favourable to employees, without employee consent; and
making it easier for employees to bring claims for “unfair dismissal” in cases of fire and rehire; and
Provide additional legal protections by making it easier and quicker for industrial action to be taken in cases of fire and rehire.2
Whilst accepting there is a problem, the government is reluctant to bring in primary legislation to tackle this issue, citing increasing red tape, placing more work at the hands of overburdened employment tribunals and preventing businesses adapt to swift changes in demand fo their services.
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Q I dont know if this will get through to you or not. I am a paramedic, and due to the way everything is going now, we often spend 5-8 hours waiting outside of hospitals on our shift. Its difficult with drink as we have to use the hospital water taps. And if you bring in food and leave it on station, we don't often get breaks to go back and heat it up. Is there anything we can do to get our employers to provide a welfare van or something with sandwiches and hot drinks on? thanks for your time! keep up the great videos
A Are you a member of a union? They are usually a great starting point for something like this. It’s well reported that you guys are really under immense pressure at the moment and I can understand your frustration at not being able to access food and drink when you need to.
You probably realise that you are not covered by the Working Time Regulations 1998 when it comes to statutory rest breaks, because of the nature of your work. You should however be given compensatory rest as soon as is reasonably possible.
I suggest you speak with your line manager and explain that you are not receiving adequate food and water whilst working without a break. Under health and safety legislation your employer has a duty to provide a safe system of work, so why not bring it under that particular umbrella? Anything you say/request under health and safety law attracts employment protection so you should not suffer any kind of detriment as a consequence of asking.
If the informal approach doesn’t work, make an official written grievance and follow that process through. And if it still doesn't bear fruit, there’s always the press. Hungry paramedics waiting for hours in an ambulance queue will always make for good reading!
I hope it gets sorted for you and thanks for doing a great job in these very testing times.
Q The business I work for is in administration and being purchased by a new company, all of the current employees including myself are being TUPE’d across, we are being given the chance tomorrow to ask any questions we have, is there any specific questions you think I should ask?
A The most important question you should ask is ‘What measures do you propose to take as a consequence of the transfer?’ This should cover everything and the new company should already have given you that information, but if they haven’t, now is the time to ask. They have a legal duty to disclose any measures they may take, such changes to your current terms and conditions of employment, redundancies or job roles.
Firing and Rehiring: An agenda for reform