Fire and Rehire in England, Wales and Scotland

Who this guide is for

Employees in England, Wales or Scotland whose employer wants to change their contract, for example pay, hours or shifts, and has threatened to dismiss them and offer a new contract on the new terms ("fire and rehire").

What this guide does not cover

• Work in Northern Ireland: see the Northern Ireland guide.
• Redundancy: see our employee rights guide. Settlement agreement offers: see our settlement agreement guide.
• Consultation when 20 or more employees may be dismissed. This guide does not cover it: ask Acas.
• Tribunal time limits in detail: see our tribunal deadline guide.

What the rules depend on

1. What does your employer want to change? Pay, hours, shifts, time off and pensions are the changes the planned new protections cover.
2. Have you been dismissed, or only told you might be? A threat is not yet a dismissal.
3. When did or will the dismissal happen? The new protections are not law yet. Today's rules apply until they start.
4. How long have you worked there? Ordinary unfair dismissal needs 2 years now, or 6 months where the employment ends on or after 1 January 2027.

"Can my employer just change my contract?"

Employment contracts, whether written or verbal, are legally binding agreements. Their terms cannot usually be changed by just one party. Changes will need to be agreed by both the employer and the employee, or with a trade union or other employee representatives in some circumstances.

"They've said they'll sack me and rehire me on new terms"

This is called dismissal and re-engagement, or fire and rehire. Your employer should follow the government's statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement.

The Code says your employer should tell you what changes they want to make, why they think the changes are needed, and what alternative options they have thought about. They should give you this information in writing before they make a final decision, listen to your views and take your feedback seriously.

If you are dismissed, it is still a dismissal, even if you are offered a new contract. With enough service, it might be unfair dismissal if there was no fair reason, the reason was not enough to justify dismissing you, or your employer did not follow a fair procedure.

You currently need at least 2 years of continuous employment to claim ordinary unfair dismissal. If your employment ends on or after 1 January 2027, you need at least 6 months.

"I heard fire and rehire has been banned"

Not yet. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will make it automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for refusing a "restricted variation", such as a change to pay, hours, shift times, time off or pensions. There is a narrow exception for an employer in severe financial difficulty.

These protections are not in force yet. The government's updated timeline says they will start in January 2027. Until they start, today's rules apply.

"What can I do?"

You can get advice from Acas, Citizens Advice or your trade union before you agree to anything.

Before you can make most employment tribunal claims, you must notify Acas to start early conciliation. It is free. Your time limit is paused while conciliation runs, but only if you notify Acas within your time limit.

Deadlines you must meet

• Most tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal: 3 months less 1 day from the act you are complaining about, or 6 months less 1 day where that act (or the last act in a series) happened on or after 1 October 2026.
• Notify Acas within your time limit, so that the clock is paused.
• Your exact date depends on your facts: see our tribunal deadline guide.

Traps

• Do not say fire and rehire is already banned. The new protections are not law yet.
• Being offered a new contract does not stop it being a dismissal.
• The 6-month unfair dismissal rule applies only where the employment ends on or after 1 January 2027.
• Do not use Northern Ireland rules here.