HR briefing - fire and re-hire clauses

Most contractual changes can be agreed between employer and employee, but this is not always the case. Forcing through a change can sometimes be necessary, either by unilaterally imposing the change or, more drastically, by dismissing those employees who refuse to accept the changed terms, and offering to re-employ them on the new terms. Employment lawyers call this dismissal and re-engagement. The press uses the snappier label “fire and re-hire”. This option of last resort has come under heavy criticism in recent months, particularly after the well-publicised P&O episode, with litigation reaching the Court of Appeal in at least one dispute. In March 2022 the Government committed to introducing a new statutory Code of Practice to give clearer guidance in this area. A draft Code has now been published, and we explore the draft in this month’s podcast. Interested in more podcasts? Why not check out our dedicated podcast page.  Listen and subscribe to The Macfarlanes Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast and Amazon Music.