The government has responded to the Employment Rights Act consultation on fire and rehire provisions.
Proposals brought forward in the Employment Rights Act have significantly limited the variations that employers can make to their employees' contracts through dismissal and re-engagement.
The consultation sought views on two areas of contract variations - expenses/benefits in kind, and shift changes - and whether some or all of these contract variations should be restricted under the new regulations.
The government response can be found here.
Within the response it is confirmed that the fire and rehire measures will come into force in March 2027 - two months later than expected. However, implementation will happen before the Code of Practice is finalised (expected in the summer), creating a gap which will potentially make it more challenging for employers to navigate how best to comply.
The Code of Practice is subject to consultation. BRC will respond if there is enough member interest. Please get in touch with Ben if you are interested in a BRC response and want to share your views.
Consultation response: expenses and benefits in kind
Consultation proposal: all expenses and benefits in kind would not be considered as restricted variations to contracts.
Consultation outcome: the government has opted for a slightly more stringent alternative, bringing travel expenses, accommodation expenses, and long-term accommodation as a benefit in kind within the scope of restricted variations. This means that an employer could not dismiss and engage employees in order to make these types of contractual variations.
All other expenses and benefits in kind will not be restricted variations. Government said this was due to the strong and convincing arguments made by business representative organisations.
Impact on retail: BRC is keen to hear retailer views on this and the extent to which (if at all) you will be impacted. Please contact Ben.
Consultation response: shift changes
Consultation proposal: significant shift changes, i.e. from day to night or weekend to weekday (or vice versa) would be considered restricted variations. Any other changes would be unrestricted.
Consultation outcome: the government is proceeding with the proposal as outlined above.
Impact on retail: BRC response called for all shift changes to be excluded from restricted variations. We would be keen to hear the extent to which (if at all) you will be impacted by the direction of travel. Please contact Ben.
Next steps for retailers
- Share your reaction to the consultation response - any feedback and reflections welcome.
- Review the new consultation on the revised Code of Practice and share your views with the BRC to inform their response.
