Employment Contracts · glossary
A dismissal the law treats as unfair because of its reason, however short the employee’s service. Under the fire-and-rehire rule, due from January 2027, dismissing Esme for refusing a restricted variation is one. No clause in the Contract can change that. Chapter 9 · see Restricted variation, Fire and rehire
Explained in Chapter 9, Changing the Contract: Variation and the Fire-and-Rehire Rules, of Employment Contracts.
Fire and rehire means dismissing staff who refuse a change to their terms, then offering them their job back on the new terms. The Employment Rights Act 2025 curbs it by adding section 104I to the 1996 Act. Under that section, dismissing an employee for refusing a restricted variation is automatically unfair dismissal (unfair however reasonably the employer acted). No minimum service is needed, so the rule protects Esme from her first day.Read Chapter 9, Changing the Contract: Variation and the Fire-and-Rehire Rules →
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