What TUPE is

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 ("TUPE") protect employees when:

  1. A business transfer — the whole or part of a business is sold or merges with another.
  2. A service provision change — outsourcing, in-housing, or changing service provider (e.g. a cleaning contract moves to a new contractor).

What transfers

  • Your employment moves to the new employer automatically.
  • Your terms and conditions transfer, including pay, hours, holiday entitlement, and most contract clauses.
  • Your continuity of service is preserved — for unfair dismissal qualifying period, redundancy pay, etc.
  • Collective agreements transfer for the most part.
  • Pensions mostly do NOT transfer (some occupational pension rights are excluded), though there are minimum protections.

Information + consultation

The transferring employer must inform and consult employee representatives "long enough before" the transfer to allow meaningful consultation. Failure can mean awards of up to 13 weeks' pay per affected employee.

Dismissals + ETO

A dismissal whose sole or principal reason is the transfer is automatically unfair. However, if the reason is an Economic, Technical or Organisational (ETO) reason entailing changes in the workforce, it may be fair — though you still get redundancy pay if it's a redundancy.

Changing terms after transfer

The new employer cannot harmonise your terms downward because of the transfer. Changes are only lawful with consent and for an ETO reason.