Code Of Practice On' Fire And Rehire'

On 18 July 2024, the Statutory Code on Dismissal and Re-engagement (the “Code”) came into force – commonly referred to as the code on fire and rehire. The Code sets out how employers should act if attempting to dismiss and re-engage an employee to change the terms of their employment contract. We talked about the proposed updates in February 2024, which you can read about here.

Although the Code was a Conservative proposal, the new Labour government has decided to allow it to come into force. On the implementation of the Code, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds announced that the whilst the Code does not go far enough to address the “scourges of fire and rehire”, it will at least provide some level of protection for workers, and improve their conditions until Labour can implement their own commitments on fire and rehire. In line with Labour's manifesto, the Secretary of State has said that legislation will be implemented in the first