The 2014 TUPE laws state that the transferor (i.e. the person selling the business or transferring the service) and the transferee (the person receiving it) have a joint responsibility to ensure that consultation has taken place with the employees affected. This consultation may include the transferee’s existing staff as well as those acquired from the transferor.
Where elected employee representatives (or a trade union agreement) already exist for the purposes of consultation then the consultation exercise may be carried out with them. In the absence of these, the affected employees should elect employee representatives to consult with management on their behalf (except for ‘micro’ organisations of less than 10, in which case consultation can take place directly with the individuals.) Consultation must be meaningful and must include:
- Why and when the transfer is going to happen
- Legal, economic and social implications for affected employees
- Whether any action is planned by the existing employer which will affect employees and, if so, what.
In some circumstances a failure to consult could result in an award of 13 weeks pay for each employee concerned
The regulations also place an obligation on the transferor to supply minimum information to the transferee about the employees who will transfer. This information must include names, ages, contracts of employment or statements of written particulars, information about any collective agreements, disciplinary action or grievances in the last 2 years and details of any legal action taken by employees against the employer in the last 2 years.
A failure to supply this information could result in a penalty against the transferor of not less than £500 per employee transferring.
The regulations then are far reaching and will have implications for all who are considering buying or selling a business, or part of a business, or when considering a service provision change.
HR Outsource customers should contact myHRdept to prepare letters etc on their behalf and to advise on the TUPE process. We are also happy to consider project managing the HR implications of a TUPE transfer (inbound or outbound).
myHRdept have handled numerous inbound and outbound TUPE projects for existing HR Outsource clients and one off projects for new clients. Contact us to discuss your HR requirements or call 01628 820515.