Fire and rehire’ refers to when an employer dismisses an employee and offers to re-engage them on a new contract with less-favourable terms.
Rather than end ‘fire and rehire’, the Government’s proposed statutory code of practice sets out how employers’ can change contractual terms and conditions of employment. The TUC have condemned the code, saying “A statutory code of practice is not going to stop another P&O-style scandal from happening and it won’t deter bad bosses from treating staff like disposable labour.”
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Too many businesses are resorting to ‘fire and rehire’ tactics to unfairly slash employees’ terms and conditions. This outrageous practice must be banned and workers need the full protection of the law. The proposed code relies on employers acting reasonably, but it can never be reasonable to fire someone one day and hire them back for their old job on worse terms and conditions the next day.
“Ministers could choose to make ‘fire and rehire’ illegal. By swerving the issue, we can clearly see where the Government’s priorities lie and it’s not on the side of working people. They’re threatening a bonfire of employment rights derived from the EU and trying to rush through anti-union legislation which is unfair, unworkable and almost certainly illegal.
“It’s time for a change. We need a general election. Only Labour is committed to delivering a new deal for workers and promising an end to ‘fire and rehire’.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.
Labour’s New Deal for Workers: www.usdaw.org.uk/LaboursNDW
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion