Lewes Council Bans 'Fire & Rehire' Practices In District

Thursday, 23 September 2021 06:00

Lewes District Council has passed a motion condemning the use of ‘Fire and Rehire’ practices by any employer in the district.

Councillor Chris Collier submitted the motion at Full Council last night (September 20) and it was seconded by Councillor Roy Clay.

Councillor Collier, Cabinet member for Performance and People, said:

“Unreasonable employers use the ‘Fire and Rehire’ tactic to force staff to accept lower wages, different hours or changes in working life. In many other countries this is against the law.

"However, in this country it still affects thousands of workers across all industries, large and small, and this must come to an end.”

He said that Barry Gardiner MP’s Private Members’ Bill, due to be debated by MPs next month, seeks to ban the practice in the UK and would provide safeguards for workers against dismissal and re-engagement on inferior terms and conditions.

As agreed by the motion, Councillor Collier will write to Maria Caulfield, MP for Lewes, and Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP for Brighton and Kemptown, calling on them to ‘do all in their power to make this practice unlawful’.

If the Bill is enacted, Lewes District Council reserves the right to exclude an organisation from participating in its procurement procedure if it has committed an offence under that legislation, and the exclusion is proportionate and justified in relation to the particular works, goods or services being procured.

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