Matt’s Employment Law and HR Update
Matt Huggett of Carbon Law Partners and Brightstar HR provides regular news and updates on all things employment law and HR in the UK.
In an engaging and natural style he will chat you through the latest changes in employment law and give you practical guidance about the impact that these changes will make your approach to the management of your people.
Contact Matt at:
matthew.huggett@carbonlawpartners.com or www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhuggett/
Matt’s Employment Law and HR Update
Fire and Rehire - new Draft Code of Practice
There has been much discussion over the use of 'fire and re-hire' by employers over recent months and years. Unions have sought (and obtained) injunctions to prevent employers dismissing and re-engaging (Tesco) and there have been other campaigns by trade unions about the threat that such practices have to the terms and conditions of employees (British Gas).
These two relatively high profile cases (Tesco and British Gas) occurred before the case of P&O which was very widely reported. The P&O case wasn't technically a fire and re-hire situation as P&O did not re-hire the same employees back on different terms and conditions, they simply recruited new employees outside of the UK.
But the P&O case was a real driver for change. It provided an opportunity to the Unions to really challenge the government on the lack of protection for workers from dismissal in circumstances where the employer wished to change terms and conditions of employment. Politically, the government was under pressure to react and rather than implement legislation, they agreed to publish a Code of Practice, the draft of which has now been published.
In this episode we look at the legislative environment in which organisations can change terms and conditions of employment, the risks, the pitfalls and how this new Draft COP may change things.
This episode is not intended to provide legal advice. Rather, it is intended to provide general guidance on the topic discussed.
If you would like us to advise you on a particular issue then please get in touch with us at matthew.huggett@carbonlawpartners.com
If you are an employer, we offer fixed price arrangements for support and advice. So if you want certainty about your legal spend whilst also getting top notch advice, then just ask us to quote for your business. If you need insurance backed support we can provide this as well.
In addition to legal advice, Matt also offers HR and Employment Law Training through his partner business: Brightstar HR. Please have a look at all the training offered here: www.brightstarhr.co.uk