Unite has accused housebuilder Taylor Wimpey of issuing dismissal notices to 50 joiners and scaffolders in the North East as part of a plan to rehire them on new contracts that would reduce their bonus pay by more than 30%.
Unite regional officer Greg Robson said: “Taylor Wimpey has serious questions to answer about how it has treated these workers.”
The union said dismissal notices were issued to 31 joiners and 19 scaffolders on 1 October, with workers required to sign the notices by 7 October. Unite alleged the move was intended to reduce bonus payments, with the affected employees subsequently being rehired on less favourable contractual terms.
Robson told Construction News: “These are rates of pay that they’ve been on for years. It’s a huge change for them at a time when [Taylor Wimpey] has [operating] profits of £420m.”
Taylor Wimpey’s full-year 2025 accounts reported an adjusted operating profit of £420.6m.
In a letter to Blyth and Ashington MP Ian Lavery, seen by Construction News, Taylor Wimpey said it was “proposing to revise bonus calculations for joiners and scaffolders, to bring overall pay into closer alignment with market rates and those elsewhere in our business”.
The letter stated that average pay for joiners employed by Taylor Wimpey in the North East was 23.9% higher than that of comparable workers elsewhere in its UK operations.
For scaffolders, the company reported a pay difference of 23.8%. However, Robson disputed the figures, saying: “We haven’t seen proof of that.” He added that Unite had requested further information from the company.
Unite said the proposed changes would cut bonus payments by more than 30%, highlighting that bonus pay “frequently makes up half of workers’ actual pay” in the construction industry.
The union also claimed that workers had raised their concerns through “several collective grievances” but were “denied their statutory right to do so”.
Lavery raised the dispute in the House of Commons on 15 October, arguing that some employers “appear determined to exploit the situation before [fire and rehire] protections take effect”.
The fire and rehire protections included in the Employment Rights Act 2025 are scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2027. They cover dismissals used to impose specified contractual changes, including reductions in pay, subject to an exception for qualifying financial difficulties.
However, the legislation does not prohibit every instance of fire and rehire. Whether Taylor Wimpey’s proposed bonus changes would fall within the new pay protections will depend on the workers’ contracts and the specific arrangements governing their bonuses.
Taylor Wimpey said the consultation process had “concluded fairly and openly” and confirmed that it had consulted the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). The company added that it was “committed to engaging fully with employees before a final resolution is reached, with a number of potential outcomes still to be considered”.
A meeting between Taylor Wimpey and the affected workers was expected to take place within the following two weeks, according to Robson.
He added: “Obviously, industrial action is the last resort, but it is an option we’re looking at.”