If your organisation operates an ISO 9001 or ISO 45001 management system, this needs your attention.
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, changes introduced by the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and subsequent updates mean that so-called “fire and rehire” tactics are now treated as automatically unfair dismissals in most circumstances.
This is no longer just an HR issue. It is a legal compliance risk.
If it is not already in your risk register, it should be.
To get customised support specific to your organisation, please get in touch with us.
What Has Changed
“Fire and rehire” is where an employer dismisses staff and offers re-engagement on worse terms, usually to force through contractual changes.
The government has moved to restrict this practice except in very limited, genuine business survival situations. Tribunals now have clearer powers to treat these dismissals as automatically unfair if employers fail to consult properly or use dismissal as leverage.
If your organisation tries to change contracts by threatening dismissal, you are exposed.
Why This Is an ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 Issue
Both standards require you to identify compliance obligations, assess risks and opportunities, prevent legal breaches and protect workers.
Under ISO 9001 Clause 6.1 and ISO 45001 Clause 6.1.3, you must determine legal requirements and address associated risks.
If your leadership team is not aware of this shift in employment law, your management system is not working properly.
This sits under Legal Compliance Risk in employment law.
Ignoring it creates exposure in four areas:
- Employment Tribunal claims
- Reputational damage
- Industrial relations breakdown
- Failure of leadership oversight
That is board level risk.
What Needs to Happen Now
This should be treated as an immediate management review item.
Actions required:
Review your current employment contract change procedures.
Review consultation processes.
Confirm HR policy alignment with current legislation.
Add a defined risk entry to the risk register.
Assign ownership at senior level.
If you do not formally document and control this risk, you cannot claim your management system is effective.
Example Risk Register Entry
Risk: Use of dismissal and re-engagement tactics in breach of updated employment law
Category: Legal Compliance
Impact: Tribunal claims, financial penalties, reputational harm
Likelihood: Medium if organisational change is planned
Controls Required: Legal review, structured consultation process, board oversight
Clear. Accountable.
Why This Matters for ISO 45001
ISO 45001 is about protecting workers.
If employees believe their contracts can be changed under threat of dismissal, psychological safety collapses. That is a workplace health risk.
You cannot promote wellbeing while using coercive tactics.
Auditors will not ignore this if it surfaces.
Leadership Cannot Delegate This Away
This is not something to quietly leave with HR.
Clause 5 in both ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 makes leadership accountable.
If directors are unaware of the legal shift, that is a governance failure.
If they are aware but ignore it, that is a compliance failure.
Either way, it belongs in the risk register and in the next management review.
Bottom Line
Fire and rehire is no longer a grey area.
It is now, in most cases, an automatically unfair dismissal under UK law.
If your organisation operates an ISO 9001 or ISO 45001 management system and this risk is not formally identified, assessed and controlled, your system has a gap.
Add it.
Escalate it.
Deal with it properly.
If your risk register has not been updated to reflect the legal position on fire and rehire, act now.
Brief your directors.
Review your contract change process.
Check that your controls would stand up in a tribunal or an ISO audit.
If you are unsure where you stand, request a call back. We will review your current position and tell you straight whether your management system covers this risk properly or not.
Do not wait for a claim to find out.
