Government response to fire and rehire and collective redundancy – protective award period doubled to 180 days
Yesterday (4 March), the Government published its response to its consultation regarding the strengthening of remedies against abuse of the rules on collective redundancy and fire and rehire. These changes are part of the Government’s broader “Make Work Pay” initiative, which seeks to improve working conditions and protect employees from exploitative practices. They are not in place yet, but are likely to become law towards the end of 2026.
The key aspects of the response for employers to be aware of are as follows:
- Doubling of the protective award period: The maximum period for the protective award (i.e. the duration for which employees receive compensation when employers fail to consult properly during collective redundancies), will be doubled from 90 days to 180 days to ensure that employers take their consultation obligations seriously.
- No interim relief: After considering the proposal, the Government decided that interim relief (i.e. where employees can be reinstated or continue to be paid while their case is being heard) will not be made available in claims for protective awards and/or unfair dismissal on the grounds of fire and rehire. This will be welcome news to employers who will be relieved to have avoided this burden. At present, interim relief is only available in whistleblowing and trade union detriment cases.
- Further guidance: The Government will issue further guidance for employers on complying with collective redundancy and consultation processes.
Employers who are anticipating needing to make redundancies from 2026 onwards will need to be more careful in relation to the risk of non-compliance with collective consultation requirements, particularly given the potential liability for a failure to inform and consult will be double the amount currently, and pay for these awards is uncapped.
If you need have any questions regarding these changes, or need assistance with any other matter, please get in touch with a member of the team.