I've been reflecting on the government’s recent amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, and what they really mean for fire and re-hire practices.

When the Bill was first introduced, it proposed making any dismissal for refusing a contractual change automatically unfair, unless the employer could meet a high financial threshold. That would have caught a wide range of scenarios — including some the government likely didn’t intend, such as workplace relocations or changes to duties.

The latest amendments scale that back by introducing the concept of a restricted variation. Only certain types of changes, including to pay, hours, pensions and shift patterns, will now trigger the automatic unfair dismissal protection. Other changes will fall outside the new regime and continue to be assessed under existing unfair dismissal principles.

In practice, these amendments remove some of the unintended consequences of the original drafting. But it would be wrong to see this as a major policy shift. Most of the changes that tend to lead to fire and re-hire exercises will still be caught.

If you would like advice on preparing for change under the Employment Rights Bill, please contact our Employment team.

As our recent article puts it: