Section 27BE Employment Rights Act 1996

Section 27BE of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is about Acceptance or rejection of a guaranteed hours offer. It provides as follows:

(1)Where an employer makes a guaranteed hours offer to a qualifying worker and the offer is not treated as having been withdrawn by virtue of section 27BD(2) or regulations under section 27BD(6), the qualifying worker may, by giving notice to the employer before the end of the response period, accept or reject the offer.

(2)Where the guaranteed hours offer takes the form of an offer to vary the qualifying worker’s terms and conditions of employment and the qualifying worker gives notice under subsection (1) accepting the offer, the variation (assuming the worker’s contract that was in force when the guaranteed hours offer was made is still in force) is to be treated as taking effect on the day after the day on which notice is given (but this is subject to subsection (6)).

(3)If the guaranteed hours offer takes the form of an offer to vary the qualifying worker’s terms and conditions of employment but the worker’s contract that was in force when the guaranteed hours offer was made ceases to be in force during the response period—

(a)the qualifying worker may (if the offer is not treated as having been withdrawn by virtue of section 27BD(2) or regulations under section 27BD(6)) still give notice under subsection (1) accepting the offer, and

(b)if the qualifying worker does so—

(i)the qualifying worker and the employer are to be treated as entering into a worker’s contract on the day after the day on which notice is given (but this is subject to subsection (6)), and

(ii)the terms of the contract are to be treated as being the terms of the worker’s contract that was in force when the guaranteed hours offer was made as varied in accordance with the terms of the offer.

(4)Where the guaranteed hours offer takes the form of an offer to enter into a new worker’s contract and the qualifying worker gives notice under subsection (1) accepting the offer—

(a)the qualifying worker and the employer are to be treated as entering into a worker’s contract in the terms of the offer on the day after the day on which notice is given (but this is subject to subsection (6)), and

(b)that worker’s contract is to be treated as replacing any other worker’s contract entered into between the qualifying worker and the employer that is in force on that day.

(5)But where, by virtue of subsection (4)(b), a new worker’s contract replaces another worker’s contract of a qualifying worker who is an employee—

(a)that is not to be treated for the purposes of this Act as breaking the continuity of a period of employment of the qualifying worker;

(b)the worker’s contract that is replaced is not to be treated for the purposes of Part 10 as having terminated.

(6)A qualifying worker and an employer may agree, for the purposes of subsection (2), (3) or (4), that the variation of the qualifying worker’s terms and conditions of employment is to be treated as taking effect, or (as the case may be) the new worker’s contract is to be treated as being entered into, on a later day than the day mentioned in the subsection (and, in subsection (4)(b), the reference to “that day” is then to be read as a reference to the later agreed day).

(7)If a qualifying worker to whom a guaranteed hours offer has been made does not give notice under subsection (1) before the end of the response period, the qualifying worker is to be treated as having rejected the offer.

(8)The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about—

(a)the form and manner in which notice under subsection (1) must be given by a qualifying worker to an employer;

(b)when notice given by a qualifying worker to an employer under subsection (1) is to be treated as having been given.

(9)In this section, “the response period” has the same meaning as in section 27BD.

(10)Where—

(a)an employer is permitted by section 27BY(3) to withdraw a guaranteed hours offer (withdrawal of offer following incorporation of terms of collective agreement), and

(b)the employer withdraws the offer by giving notice under that section,

subsection (1) of this section ceases to apply in relation to the offer when the notice is given.

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Source: legislation.gov.uk
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