T.U.P.E Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)

June 9, 2020

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We were contacted by our client to assist them with an upcoming T.U.P.E. Transfer. 

We met with the client and discovered that no formal contact had been made with the transferor at this stage. 

We conducted due diligence on behalf of our client, and on analysing the tender document they had produced to win the contract, sorting headcount into designated roles and responsibilities and speaking directly with employees, determined that 12 of the 30 cited employees by the transferor were not wholly assigned to the contract and should therefore not transfer under this TUPE.  After a series of meetings and phone calls with their in-house legal team the transferor accepted and agreed to re-deploy these 12 employees. Our client was then left with 18 employees to consult with.

We first confirmed the 18 employee’s terms and conditions and if any of these people were on long term sick leave.  We also arranged for employee representatives to be elected.

All 18 people were at work and we arranged to meet with them.  We had a tight deadline to meet as the transfer was due to take place with 3 weeks.

Solution

During this process, we managed the following activities to achieve a successful solution to the transfer: 

What was discussed

  • Provision of support for the Staff Representatives taking part in both the TUPE consultations; 
  • Confirming their role and responsibilities and how to support employees during the process;
  • Scheduling, inviting, scripting and holding a group TUPE consultation meeting on site with all 18 employees; 
  • Collating questions and issues arising from group consultation with regards to TUPE;
  • Drafting responses and publishing information
  • Scheduling, inviting, scripting and holding individual consultation meetings on site with all 18 employees;
  • Co-ordinated, drafted and issued letters confirming the TUPE transfer terms and measures accepted by all employees;
  • Drafted and issued letters to all transferring employees that their new terms and conditions would be unchanged;
  • Collated information for payroll and pension for the 18 employees who transferred;
  • Issued documentation to transferring employees so that all employee records were up to date and the client complied with obtaining “the right to work” documentation as appropriate;
  • Maintained regular communication with the Directors allowing speedy resolution of any issues and a co-ordinated approach to bring the project to conclusion

Outcome

The TUPE consultations took place within the three weeks and the transfers went ahead as planned with no issues. 

Our client was complimentary of the advice and support provided by us during what they had found to be a stressful complex legal process. There were no formal appeals or Employment Tribunal claims as a result of redundancies and the majority of employees were able to secure new employment.

All of which meant that our client from day one of the transfer, was able to concentrate on providing an excellent service to their new client.

At the conclusion of the transfer the client decided to sign up to our Premium Service contract.

Learned

How easy a T.U.P.E transfer could go wrong.  These are complex issues where co-operation from both the transferor and transferee must always consult.

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