Government consultation on changes to TUPE
The Government has launched a consultation on proposals to change the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). The consultation runs until 11 July 2024.
TUPE determines what happens to employees and their contracts of employment when a business (or part of a business) is sold or there is a change in a service provider, e.g. a service is outsourced or a previously outsourced service is brought back in-house. TUPE is based on European legislation. In the last few years, several European cases have taken TUPE in a direction which the Government doesn’t feel works for UK businesses. With the regulatory freedom achieved from Brexit, the Government proposes to make the following changes to the legislation:
- To confirm that TUPE should only apply to employees. In its present form, TUPE applies to ‘employees’ but that definition is wider than that contained in other employment legislation. This led to the decision in Dewhurst v Revisecatch Ltd, that TUPE would also apply to workers. Although this decision is not binding on future cases (because it is a first instance decision), the Government proposes to clarify the position.
- To confirm that if a business transfers to more than one buyer, the employees, assigned to the parts of the business transferring, cannot have their employment split. Full employment of any individual employee must transfer to one transferee business. The Government’s proposal is that transferees would be required to agree who should take on each employee.
If your business regularly undertakes TUPE transfers, then you can let the Government know what you think about their proposals at: https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bCJrScu9x7E89JY
