Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of 27 April 2021, Official Report, column 86WH, what steps his Department has taken to (a) investigate the use of fire and rehire tactics by its executive non-departmental public bodies, (b) communicate the Government's position on fire and rehire tactics to those bodies and (c) discourage the use of such tactics by those bodies.

The Government has been very clear that threatening fire and rehire as a negotiating tactic is completely unacceptable. We always expect employers to treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership working with trade unions, where relevant, constructively. We are confident that all non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are aware of the Government’s position on this matter.

We work constructively with each NDPB we have responsibility for and this includes when it comes to workforce management matters. However, each NDPB that does not employ civil servants is ultimately responsible for the management of its staff.

The Department has taken no recent action regarding the use of fire and rehire tactics in its executive NDPBs. Should information come to light that suggests this is an area of concern, then the Department would respond accordingly.