Worcestershire County Council to fire and rehire 150 staff

The workers - some of the longest-serving at the council - will be dismissed from their current 37-hour contracts in October and re-hired on 35-hour contracts.

Unison, the public service union, has called the process “obscene” and said it amounts to a five percent pay cut for some of the authority’s most loyal members of staff.

SHOCKED: Cllr Richard Udall says the council's reputation will be damaged (Image: Cllr Richard Udall)

Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has promised to pass legislation to end the practice within 100 days of taking office.

In May, the party said it will “end the scourges of ‘fire and rehire’ and ‘fire and replace’ that leave working people at the mercy of bullying threats”.

Consultation documents seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service show that following one-to-one meetings with council bosses, only one worker planned to accept the proposals.

They also show that 87 staff members applied for their roles to be considered exempt from the process. Two were approved.

Jack Kay, regional organiser for Unison West Midlands, said Worcestershire County Council was in a “race against time” to complete the process before it was banned.

“It is obscene for a county council to be doing this,” he said, “people work for councils because they have a reputation as being good employers.

“Worcestershire is throwing all of that away for what is a miniscule amount of money in relation to the council’s entire budget.

“They are showing a complete lack of care and respect for their staff. And the people that will suffer are the Worcestershire constituents - if you take those hours off 150 staff that is a huge amount of work taken out of the council. It is the service users who are going to suffer.”

Labour councillor Richard Udall said: “I believe it’s shocking that a local council can even consider implanting an employment policy which is considered to be so dreadful, it’s soon to be banned by the government.

“They are now engaged in a race to get this through before the government can change the law and stop them.

“This is no way to run a local authority, it’s certainly no way to treat long-standing, hardworking and dedicated employees who work tirelessly for their employer on a daily basis.

“It will significantly damage the reputation of the county council and all those involved with the decision.

“Many are close to retirement, this policy will have a significant impact on their pensions as well as their incomes. It’s a 5.4 percent pay cut, being imposed under the threat of dismissal.

“I will be asking the two new Labour MPs in the county to take this up with the Secretary of State, we need intervention to make the council see sense and to drop these cruel and despicable proposals.”

A council spokesperson said: “We have engaged in consultation with approximately 150 staff, less than six percent of the workforce, on the council’s reduced working hours strategy which was first introduced in 2011.

“Officers first commenced consultation in December 2023 and have been in dialogue with staff affected by the proposed change and the council’s recognised trade unions, both prior to and throughout the process in accordance with the council’s policies.

“Following the completion of the consultation, the chief executive authorised the proposals to be implemented. The council remains committed to full and meaningful consultation and always aims to achieve agreement to any proposals it makes. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage as the process is ongoing.”