Measures making it harder for businesses to dismiss workers and hire them on different terms pushed back to 2027
5 February 2026
The government has delayed the introduction of new worker protections to prevent “unscrupulous” fire and rehire practices, where staff are dismissed and rehired on new contractual terms, until next year.
The revised timeline, published on Tuesday as part of the rollout of the Employment Rights Act, moves the implementation date from October 2026 to January 2027.
Once implemented, the legislation will make it an automatic unfair dismissal for an employer to dismiss or replace an employee to impose changes to core contractual terms, known as restricted variations. These include pay, pensions, total working hours, performance targets and holiday entitlement.
How are the rules on fire and rehire changing?
What has changed regarding fire and rehire rules?
The changes are intended to prevent the use of fire and rehire to change core terms. However, the government said there will be some exemptions to allow changes to employment contracts “where necessary”, provided employers act reasonably and follow a fair process.
The government has opened consultation on which contractual changes should fall under the new protections, with employment expenses, benefits and shift patterns under consideration.
Antonia Blackwell, professional...
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