Union bosses have welcomed speculation that Labour will ban controversial fire and rehire tactics, as part of a new bill to protect workers’ rights.
The move, which comes as union bosses await the outcome of a Supreme Court decision involving Tesco and a group of its distribution centre workers, could signal a major change of direction on employment rights by the new Labour government, which experts say could test its relationship with businesses.
The Daily Mirror reported an Employment Rights Bill will will ban zero-hour contracts and outlaw ‘fire and rehire’ tactics.
Labour has promised to introduce a new employment bill within 100 days of coming to power.
Usdaw members employed by Tesco in its Daventry and Litchfield distribution centres won a landmark legal victory against the supermarket in 2021 after it had proposed to remove “retained pay”, which the union claimed dismissed staff and offered to re-engage them on “inferior” terms and conditions.
However, Tesco saw the decision overturned at the Court of Appeal a year later, and is now subject to a hearing due to be delivered by the Supreme Court.
“We are very much looking forward to Labour’s first King’s Speech and we expect a large and diverse range of parliamentary bills to be announced,” Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis told The Grocer.
“After 14 years of Tory austerity, chaos and incompetence there is a lot to do. Usdaw would like to see an employment bill that delivers the promised new deal for workers, including an end to ‘fire and rehire’. This outrageous practice must be banned and workers need the full protection of the law.
“The last government totally failed to address this issue after the P&O scandal highlighted a growing practice being used by too many employers to reduce terms and conditions of employment. We were shocked when Tesco adopted fire and rehire tactics to pursue a small number of employees through every court in the land to deny them wages.
“We are currently awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court regarding our Tesco members, but would welcome a general ban on the use of fire and rehire.”
A Department for Business & Trade spokesperson said: “Delivering a new deal for working people is a core part of our national mission to grow the economy and raise living standards across the UK. By modernising workplace rights and making work more secure, we will put more money in people’s pockets to spend and lay the foundations for economic growth.”
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