Acas report sees fire and rehire tactic in spotlight

The Acas advisory and conciliation service has published a report into the practice of dismissal and re-engagement (fire and rehire) that has reportedly become increasingly commonplace since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acas was invited to carry out the fact-finding exercise by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to inform policy on the issue — but was not asked to make recommendations to the government.

It surveyed employer bodies; trade unions; professional bodies and networks for employment lawyers, accountants, HR and payroll services; academics; and Acas senior advisers.

It found there was a shared sense among some participants that the practice has become increasingly prevalent both in recent years and during the pandemic.

Participants gave examples of employers using the pandemic as a “smokescreen” to diminish workers’ terms and conditions and using fire and rehire as a negotiation tactic to undermine or bypass genuine workplace dialogue on change.

Among the suggestion for changes to legislation that would curb the practice were:

• tightening up the law around unfair dismissal; • enhancing the requirement and capacity for employment tribunals to scrutinise business’ rationale for change in relevant cases;

• protecting continuity of employment in fire and rehire scenarios; and

• strengthening employers’ consultation obligations around proposed dismissals.

• See the feature Unions fight fire and rehire in LRD’s Workplace Report, June 2021, for an analysis of the practice, and examples of how unions are fighting back.

https://www.acas.org.uk/fire-and-rehire-report/html

https://www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=WR&iss=2075&id=idm140186267156768