I am proud to support a Private Member’s Bill tabled by my Labour colleague MP Barry Gardiner to outlaw the practice of Fire and Rehire.

Workers are being bullied, sacked and told they will only be re-employed to do the same job if they accept less money and poorer conditions. As if the pandemic was not bad enough, companies are now threatening people with the sack so they can pay them less or take their pensions.

The fire and rehire tactics used by employers such as British Gas and British Airways have shown us how unbalanced the relationship between workers and employers is. We should be strengthening workers’ rights, not standing by whilst bosses use bullying fire and rehire tactics to reduce pay and worsen conditions. It’s way past time fire and rehire was banned.

The Bill is also supported by over 100 MPs from all parties, 20 trade unions, the Institute of Employment Rights and the TUC.