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Tania GoodmanPartner - Head of Employment
What is TUPE?
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 protects employee rights if a business changes ownership and during other types of restructuring.
They give several duties to both the old employer and the new one. Failure to perform these duties could lead to an expensive Employment Tribunal claim.
We help employers avoid the risks associated with a business transfer. Our specialist TUPE team can help you tick all the boxes so the transfer goes ahead with the best possible protection for your business.
What issues might employers face under TUPE?
The TUPE Regulations are a complex beast and there is a lot to consider if you are to avoid a costly legal dispute. The main thrust of the legislation is to shift employees – and all liabilities associated with them – to the new employer. To protect your business from claims, you need to understand when TUPE applies, what you have to do to comply with the Regulations, what steps you can take to protect your business from claims, and the penalties that apply if things go wrong.
Tricky issues that can often trip employers up include:
- Disagreements as to which employees should transfer under TUPE
- The correction of liabilities such as national minimum wage underpayments
- Harmonising terms in employment contracts of staff after a TUPE transfer, especially where some employees have generous share or profit-sharing schemes
- Permitted changes to employment contracts for ‘economical, technical or organisational’ (ETO) reasons
- Trade union consultations
- Dismissals and redundancies
- Failure to comply with due diligence disclosures
- The enforcement of restrictive covenants after a TUPE transfer
How can we help?
Knowing when and how TUPE applies to your situation is the first step to being compliant. We can help you negotiate the TUPE clauses in your employment contract, manage the consultation process, draft letters to employees, support you through redundancies and defend claims made to Employment Tribunals or through the courts.
Our team consists of transactional and contentious disputes lawyers. Together, our employment lawyers can ensure that you not only avoid and quickly resolve any disputes under TUPE, but you also have the ongoing support you need after the transfer as you streamline operations and focus on growth.
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