Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that fire and rehire as a negotiating tactic is not being used in his Department and associated arms length bodies.

The Department’s human resources (HR) policies on organisational change and dismissal specify the legally permitted reasons for dismissal and the relevant process that must be followed. These are in line with ACAS and Civil Service HR guidance. There is no scope within our policies to allow ‘fire and rehire’ as a negotiating tactic. We expect our arm’s length bodies to adhere to the same guidance regarding dismissal procedures.