Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Re-employment

(asked on 27th May 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of employers in receipt of covid-19 loans and grants under the Coronavirus Job Retention Support Scheme who have engaged in fire and rehire tactics.


Answered by
Paul Scully Portrait
Paul Scully
This question was answered on 7th June 2021

The Government has taken substantial action to support jobs during the pandemic, most notably through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The scheme is available to those businesses that have been unable to maintain their workforce because their operations have been affected by COVID-19.

We have consistently condemned the inappropriate use of fire and rehire as a negotiation tactic. We would all agree that the best outcome is for employers and employees to jointly negotiate new terms and conditions, and every effort should be made by all parties to achieve this. There are laws around how this must be done, and legal protections in place when firms are considering redundancies.

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