Fire and rehire and contract changes

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The Employment Rights Act introduces major reforms to UK employment law, with changes being implemented in stages from December 2025 through to 2027.

Employment Rights Act

The Act introduces new restrictions on ‘fire and rehire’, making it harder for employers to use dismissal to force workers to accept detrimental changes to their contracts.

Stronger protections will apply to changes affecting key terms such as pay, pensions, working hours, shifts and leave, with employers expected to consult and seek agreement before making significant changes. Union reps will play an important role in supporting members, ensuring meaningful consultation takes place and challenging attempts to impose unfair changes.

Explore the guidance below to find out more about what these changes mean for you.

If you’re not already a union member, you can use our Union Finder tool to find out which one would be the best fit.

We also have a useful toolkit to guide you through the key reforms - Employment Rights Act toolkit.

Common
questions

What new restrictions will there be on ‘fire and rehire’ practices?

Under the new rules, it will usually be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee because they refuse to accept certain changes to key contractual terms, including changes relating to pay, pensions, working hours, shift patterns and time off.

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What kinds of contract changes count as a ‘restricted variation’?

Under the Act, a restricted variation is a change to certain key contractual terms that are considered particularly important to workers’ terms and conditions.

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What consultation requirements will apply before employers can change terms and conditions?

The Act does not remove the need for employers to consult and seek agreement before making significant changes to employees' terms and conditions.

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What happens if an employee refuses to accept a proposed change to their contract?

Under the Act's new restrictions on fire and rehire, it will usually be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for refusing to accept certain changes to key contractual terms, such as pay, pensions, working hours, shift patterns or leave entitlements.

Find out more...

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