TUPE transfers

Legal advice for TUPE issues and claims

If you would like to speak to one of our solicitors on a confidential basis about TUPE and how it affects your employment please call us on 0203 178 5360 or contact us online.

We are experienced employment lawyers known for achieving the maximum possible compensation for individuals through negotiation and litigation. We regularly advise senior executives and other high net-worth individuals on matters involving TUPE transfers (i.e. business transfers and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006).

This is yet another area where the legal position frequently changes as a result of case law (determinations by UK and EU courts and tribunals). We are on top of those changes and can talk you through how the law applies to your situation.

Individuals ordinarily have three months less one day from the date of a detriment (e.g. a failure to consult or a change to terms and conditions) or a dismissal connected to a TUPE transfer to bring a claim (although in some circumstances this is extended as a result of compulsory early conciliation via ACAS).

Specialist TUPE solicitors

Our TUPE solicitors have many years’ experience in dealing with TUPE transfer matters for clients. We will talk you through the law and how it applies to your factual situation. We will discuss your prospects of success and the evidence required to demonstrate your claims.

We have advised a great number of clients on TUPE matters before so we understand how stressful the uncertainty of the situation can be for you. We will provide clear-headed solutions for how to deal with the situation you face – including when to raise your concerns internally and when to take legal action to protect your rights. We can help you to either extricate yourself from the situation or stay on. Concurrently we will consider whether to bring an Employment Tribunal claim and/or negotiate a settlement with your employer or partnership. The TUPE Regulations 2006 (as subsequently amended) are there to protect you so we will litigate your claim where it is necessary to do so.

As a result of their success, our London based team and our lawyers individually have received acclaim in the leading legal directories: Legal500 and Chambers & Partners.

Common TUPE issues

Some of the most common issues we come across are:

  • Dismissal – in anticipation of or following a TUPE transfer (business transfer or service provision change); this may be an automatically unfair dismissal.
  • Constructive dismissal – a fundamental breach of contract by the employer (e.g. a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence) whereby the employee acknowledges the breach and brings the contract to an end as a result. For example, if the transferee business significantly changes terms and conditions.
  • Failure to inform and/or consult – by transferor or transferee companies.
  • Negotiated exit / Settlement Agreement – where redundancies are foreseen by the ‘new’ business; this often results in a settlement agreement (compromise agreement) and a negotiated exit package.

Recent TUPE matters include

  • Advising on service provision changes under TUPE (i.e. contracting out; contracting in; changing contractors).
  • Advising on business sales under TUPE.
  • Advising executives on TUPE-related dismissals and constructive dismissals.
  • Advising on the failure to inform and consult under TUPE.
  • Negotiating settlement agreements associated with TUPE transfers (including three-party agreements with transferor, transferee and individual).

Talk to a specialist employment lawyer

If you would like to speak to one of our solicitors on a confidential basis about TUPE and how it affects your employment please call us on 0203 178 5360 or contact us online.

We act for companies as well as individuals and find that this insight is extremely useful in advising clients.