If your employer has recently announced a business transfer, merger, or outsourcing arrangement, you might be hearing the term "TUPE" cropping up in meetings and employee communications.
TUPE regulations exist to protect employees when businesses change hands: they exist to make sure that your job security and employment terms remain intact during transitions, and that your rights as an employee are upheld once changes take place.
TUPE stands for Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. Fundamentally, it’s a set of regulations designed to protect employees when their workplace undergoes certain types of business transfers or service provision changes.
The primary purpose of TUPE is to preserve your employment relationship when business activities and/or ownership transfer from one employer to another. Instead of losing your job during a business sale or outsourcing arrangement, TUPE makes sure your employment contract automatically transfers to the new employer — on the same terms and conditions you’d previously agreed to.
TUPE protection isn't automatic, and doesn’t apply to every business change.
Employees are protected by TUPE in two specific scenarios:
Relevant transfers are when a business or part of a business is transferred from one employer to another — such as a company acquisition, merger, or asset sale.
To constitute a relevant transfer, there must be a transfer of an economic entity that retains its identity. This means:
Service provision changes occur when:
The main requirement is that an organised group of employees must be assigned to carry out the activities on behalf of the client both before and after the change.
TUPE typically doesn't apply when:
TUPE protects your existing terms and conditions of employment, including salary. Generally, your salary cannot be reduced solely because of a TUPE transfer.
When TUPE applies, your new employer must honour:
These protections continue indefinitely after the transfer, not just during the transition period.
Your current employer must provide:
If you're represented by a trade union or elected employee representatives, they’ll be entitled to more detailed information about the transfer's implications.
TUPE makes it automatically unfair to dismiss employees because of the transfer itself.
Despite this, dismissals may still be permitted for:
Your length of service continues unbroken through TUPE transfers. This preserves your entitlement to any service-based renumeration, for example:
If you believe your employer has breached TUPE regulations, you may have grounds for a legal claim.
A number of issues can arise during TUPE transfers, but most fall into one of the below categories:
If you believe your TUPE rights have been violated, and you don’t receive a satisfactory response from your employer, you can submit a claim to the Employment Tribunal.
Employment claims must be submitted within three months of the relevant incident, and you should be prepared to present a comprehensive employment tribunal bundle which includes the details, evidence, and progression of your claim.
When making a claim, it’s generally recommended to consult an employment law specialist to assess the strength of your case, assist with drafting documents, and advise on your best steps.
Through the public access scheme, members of the public can directly work with an employment law barrister, who can also represent you in court should the need arise. This route often presents a lower cost alternative to instructing via a solicitor, as work is priced on a fixed-fee basis, and allows for quicker turnaround under a tight claim submission deadline.
At Barrister Connect, we host a number of specialist employment practitioners experienced in tackling TUPE claims — from initial advice to courtroom representation.
If you’re facing a TUPE matter, feel free to get in touch with our friendly team to find out how we can help.