As an employee, you may not be aware of all business decisions made by your employer, however, you are protected by legislation in relation to certain decisions made to transfer the ownership of the company. A company may decide to sell its business to another owner; there might be a merger of business, or your employment might be contracted out or changed to another contractor.
In this quite complex area of employment law it is important that you take advice should a relevant business transfer affect your employment as this can often result in a claim for automatic unfair dismissal. If you do believe that you require further advice on employer takeovers, mergers or TUPE as an employee, then our employment solicitors in Essex and London are here to help.
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations
If you are protected by TUPE, then included in the protection is the preservation of your continuity of employment and terms and conditions of employment. Once the transfer of the business takes effect then you automatically continue as an employee under the same terms.
Your employer must inform you of the proposed date of the transfer, the reasons for it, any implications of the transfer for all affected employees, and whether there are any transfer-related measures that may take place in relation to its employees.
A consultation then follows, only with a view to reaching an agreement. The obligation to inform and consult applies to any employee affected by the transfer or measures connected with it. This will usually include not only the transferring workforce, also but the transferor’s and transferee’s non-transferring workforce.
By law, your employer must inform and in various circumstances, consult with employees when they make a TUPE transfer. You may be able to make a claim if your employer fails to do so. Employers who fail to inform and consult employees or appropriate representatives in connection with a TUPE transfer may have to pay a protective award of 13 weeks’ gross pay for each affected employee.
TUPE Lawyers