In what now seems like an ongoing saga in respect of the so called "fire and rehire" process, this week Lord Callanan, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), confirmed during a parliamentary debate in the House of Lords that the draft Statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement will be published for consultation in summer 2022.
During the debate, in response to a question about the anticipated Employment Bill, Lord Callanan reconfirmed that this will be delivered "when parliamentary time allows", but added that "there are many other ways of delivering what were manifesto commitments than a formal government employment bill". The suggestion appears to be that the government is considering alternative options for delivering its commitments outside of the anticipated Employment Bill. This is supported by statements made by Lord Callanan on 14 June 2022 in another House of Lords debate that "alternative vehicles" for bringing forward legislation to introduce unpaid carers' leave, provision for which was expected to be included in the Employment Bill, will be considered.
Lord Callanan's statements on the timeframe for the draft Statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement were supported by written answers from Paul Scully MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for BEIS, published on 14 June 2022. These responded to written questions from Imran Hussain MP, requesting information about who has been consulted on the draft code and when it will be published. Mr Scully said that BEIS officials will meet with "a wide range of stakeholders with relevant expertise" and that the draft code would be published for consultation "in due course".
Numerous high-profile employers have been criticised throughout the pandemic and in the current economic climate for adopting a "fire and rehire" process (more technically referred to as terminating employment for Some Other Substantial Reason and offering re-engagement) and whilst many have called for the process to be unlawful, the implication of what the government are proposing would be that the practice becomes subject to certain guidelines (and penalties for breaching them), in the same way that disciplinary dismissals are - but that it does not become unlawful.
