In late January 2023, the UK Government published a draft Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement. The trigger for the draft Code was the increased attention on the use of dismissal and re-engagement (also known as “fire and rehire”) by employers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The draft Code follows and will supersede Acas’ guidance on fire and rehire practices.

The draft Code is open for consultation until April 18, 2023. The Government has said that it will publish its response to points raised in the consultation before finalising the Code and there is no confirmed date of when the Code will begin to apply.

When would the Code apply?

The draft Code would apply where:

• An employer considers that it wants to make changes to its employees’ contracts of employment.
• The employer envisages that, if the employees do not agree to those changes, it might dismiss them and either:
  
  • offer them re-employment on those new terms; or
  • engage new employees or workers to perform the relevant roles on the new terms.

What is the purpose of the Code?

The draft Code states that its purpose is “to ensure that an employer takes all reasonable steps to explore alternatives to dismissal.” The draft Code does not apply to dismissals by reason of redundancy and is not a replacement for existing legislative provisions relating to collective consultation in redundancy scenarios. Rather, the draft Code has been designed to provide guidance to employers when considering dismissing employees...

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