By Joe Hoppe

 

Tesco PLC won an appeal on Friday to overturn a legal decision preventing it from using "fire-and-rehire" tactics, potentially trailblazing for other employers to use the policy as well.

The British grocer had been stopped from firing employees and rehiring them on worse terms, after a case was brought by 42 workers, who claimed that Tesco was attempting to fire and rehire them on a worse contract, without retained pay.

"A very small number of colleagues in our U.K. distribution network receive a supplement to their pay, which was offered a number of years ago as an incentive to retain colleagues. The vast majority of our distribution colleagues today do not receive this top-up, and so we took the decision to phase it out," a Tesco spokesman said.

The controversial practice isn't illegal, but employers have to engage in a long process with formal consultations with workers and unions.

P&O Ferries came under fire in March for firing hundreds of staff and replacing them with cheap agency workers, and British Airways attempted to use the practice during the coronavirus pandemic to cut costs.

"We are considering our next steps following today's ruling, and will continue to work constructively with the small number of colleagues affected to agree a way forward," the Tesco spokesman said.

 

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 15, 2022 12:39 ET (16:39 GMT)

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