Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) private companies and (b) public sector employers who have engaged in the practice of fire and rehire since the start of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

The Department asked Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to conduct an evidence gathering exercise to learn more about the use of fire and rehire practices. This report was published on 8 June and is available from https://www.acas.org.uk/fire-and-rehire-report. In addition, the Department has also welcomed further evidence from trade unions and employers on the nature and scale of the issue.

The Government has been consistently clear that we do not accept the inappropriate use by some employers of fire and rehire as a negotiation tactic. Earlier this year we asked Acas to produce more comprehensive, clearer guidance to help all employers explore all the options before considering ‘fire and rehire’ and encourage good employment relations practice. Acas will publish the guidance shortly.