USDAW is set to face Tesco at the Court of Appeal today in a long-running fight against fire-and-rehire tactics.

The retail union slammed the supermarket giant for challenging a High Court ruling in February which barred bosses from dismissing workers at Tesco’s Daventry and Litchfield distribution centres and rehiring them on inferior contracts.

The landmark case, brought by social justice law firm Thompsons Solicitors, went against the extremely profitable retailer when judges ruled that it was unlawful to use the widely condemned tactic to cut “retained pay.”

The payment, designed to keep workers in the business, had been guaranteed in the 42 employees’ original contracts, judges found.

Usdaw national officer Joanne McGuinness said: “We are disappointed that Tesco has decided to appeal the victory we secured for our members and hope the Court of Appeal will also back the right to retained pay.”

Neil Todd, a trade union specialist at Thompsons, said February’s ruling was a “well-reasoned and unequivocally clear judgement.”

He added: “We will continue to fight alongside the trade union movement against employers that think they can get away with these kinds of cynical employment tactics.”

Tesco has been contacted for comment.