Tens of thousands of workers have fallen into brutal fire and rehire traps that have left them on lower pay and longer hours since the start of the Covid crisis.
It’s a tactic that’s becoming increasingly popular amongst employers who say they are restructuring and streamlining in the wake of the pandemic – a move that often involves less flexibility with less pay for workers.
Punishingly, those that refuse to sign face losing their jobs – often with no redundancy pay.
The policy first made headlines last spring, after British Airways said it would sack 12,000 that did not sign new contracts.
It said it was streamlining the way the airline worked – but workers said they would be worse off under the changes.
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Unions and workers have long been calling for the government to ban the practice which is becoming more widespread.
Frances O’Grady, the head of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said: “Coming out of this pandemic, there is an urgent need for stronger employment rights and protections, yet without a bill the inequality and injustice that exists in our economy as a result of the Tories’ failure to protect working people will only get worse.”
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said fire and rehire, under which staff are forced to accept worse conditions in order to keep their jobs, is one area where ministers must do more, calling it an “appalling and bullying practice”.
The prime minister has denounced it as unacceptable but Rayner demanded that he “outlaw it without any further delay”.
She added: “For years, many companies have used bogus self-employment to deny their workers sick pay, annual leave and other basic protections, in arrangements that are specially designed so companies can dodge their legal and moral responsibility to treat their staff with dignity and respect.”
Here are all the companies that have introduced fire and rehire policies since the start of the Covid emergency.
British Airways
British Airways became one of the first major employers to introduce the fire and rehire approach last year, after almost all flights were grounded during the first Covid lockdown.
The airline confirmed plans to cut up to 12,000 roles, including 1,130 pilots, as it entered consultation with colleagues.
It then emerged that workers were being offered worse terms to keep their job – meaning they would be kept on if they signed the new contracts.
BA's cabin crew is divided up into three parts - long haul (legacy), short haul (legacy), and a lower-paid, newer 'mixed fleet' who fly both long haul and within Europe.
However, the airline was combining all staff into a single work group at a lower pay.
Some senior long haul flight attendants based at London Heathrow said they saw their salaries drop by 50% to 75%.
Under the terms, earnings were streamlined to around £24,000 for all.
Go North West
Manchester-based bus company Go North West made headlines two months ago after announcing plans to fire and rehire staff.
It resulted in more than 300 drivers on 16 bus routes walking out over pay and working conditions.
The strike action ended on Monday after 85 days.
The Unite union said the company wanted to fire and rehire its drivers and force them to work longer for no additional pay, while also cutting sick pay for drivers with more than five years’ service.
But Go North West, which is owned by the Go Ahead Group, insisted that they had made a ‘strong’ offer to employees.
On Monday, May 17, after weeks of failed negotiations, Unite said that the dispute had finally been resolved.
Members voted overwhelmingly to accept the negotiated agreement bringing the strike to a close.
According to the union, the company has agreed to never use 'fire and rehire' in any form.
"This dispute should also send a clear and unequivocal message to all employers that Unite will never accept fire and rehire for our members - that we will do everything in our power to prevent it, and we will win,” a Unite spokesman said.
"The government itself has described fire and rehire as a `bully boy practice' but the only way to guarantee UK workers are protected from this pernicious practice that's ripping through our workplaces is for the government to follow the lead of other European countries and ban it once and for all.
"Urgent action is needed to strengthen the UK’s weak laws because it's simply too easy for employers to make brutal changes to contracts, sometimes taking thousands of pounds from workers’ wages.”
Tesco
Tesco faced the High Court last week over contract changes that union workers claim will leave workers thousands of pounds out of pocket.
A Usdaw spokesman said that around 74 workers at three Tesco distribution centres in England – two in Daventry Northamptonshire, and one in Lichfield, Staffordshire - are at risk of having their terms slashed through a fire and rehire process, which would cost some of them a third of their wages.
Usdaw argues the grocer is acting unfairly by trying to unilaterally remove people’s entitlement to retained pay.
Lawyers told judges at the High Court that Tesco was proposing to issue termination letters with new proposals on working terms that would not protect their pay.
They claim workers would lose up to a third of their income by signing new contracts that will affect working hours, benefits and extra pay.
The cases is not expected to be settled for several weeks.
British Gas
British Gas has become of the most high profile cases of fire and rehire to date, after owner Centrica pushed through a controversial 'firing and rehiring' of thousands of its staff in April.
The row went on for more than six months, with weeks of strike action, which resulted in thousands of employees being sent notice period letters.
Centrica told more than 21,000 staff to accept new contracts or potentially lose their jobs. A month earlier, in June, the company had announced that it would slash 5,000 jobs.
The tougher terms affect the entire 20,000 strong British Gas workforce, but its 7,500 service engineers – who carry out repairs for 3.6million customers who use British Gas for servicing their boilers – told The Mirror it would take a disproportionate toll on their lives and livelihoods.
The group said that 96% of its engineers agreed to sign new employment contracts by the deadline, which now requires them to work an extra three hours a week for a total of 40 hours, and will not be paid more to work on weekends and public holidays.
Unions estimate that under the new contracts, workers will suffer a 15% pay cut on average, although British Gas denies this figure
