To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2021 to Question 1169, whether he has (a) considered that evidence from Acas' fact finding exercise and (b) drawn any conclusions from that evidence.

Last year, we asked the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to collect evidence into how fire and rehire is being used by employers. This report was published on 8 June and is available from https://www.acas.org.uk/fire-and-rehire-report.

The Government has considered the findings of the report. We remain clear that we expect all employers to treat their employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership. Using threats about firing and rehiring as a negotiation tactic is unacceptable. We expect employers and employees to negotiate new terms and conditions and there are laws around how this must be done, and protections in place when firms are considering redundancies.

This is clearly a complex area for both businesses and workers. That is why we have asked Acas to produce better, more comprehensive, clearer guidance to help employers explore all the options before considering “fire and rehire” and encourage good employment relations practice.