Government corrects statutory Code of Practice on fire and re-hire

The Code

The statutory Code of Practice (the Code) was published by the Government on 18 July 2024 to protect employees from exploitive 'fire and rehire' practices used by some employers as a means of changing employee's terms and conditions of employment. The Code sets out employers' responsibilities when seeking to change contractual terms and conditions of employment and seeks to ensure dismissal and re-engagement is only used as a last resort.

The amendment

On 30 July 2024, the Government updated the Code to include additional wording that was omitted from the published Code. A sentence has been re-inserted into paragraph 52 and states that "the employer should ensure that the only terms which are changed are those which have been subject to the information-sharing and consultation process, and should not use this as an opportunity to make any further changes".

The updated Code also includes other minor textual amendments, such as changing some references from "employees and their representatives" to "employees and/or their representatives".

Future of the Code

The Labour Government has indicated plans to introduce stricter measures against 'fire and re-hire' practices, labelling the current Code as 'inadequate'. There may therefore be scope for further amendments to be made to the Code in the future.

For more information or advice, please contact Ellie Boyd in our Employment team on 020 7665 0940, or complete the form below.