Transfer of undertakings (TUPE): employment tribunal decisions

This article summarises the main issues and outcomes in employment tribunal cases involving the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). The issues considered include: service provision changes; collective consultation; an employee's objection to the transfer; and a detrimental change to working conditions. 

• Transfer of undertakings (TUPE): employment tribunal decisions The cases involve: employees resigning because of a change of location; an employee objecting to a transfer; activities carried the out transferor and continued by the client constituting a service provision change; and a "recognised" union for collective redundancy consultation. 

Also

How to harmonise terms and conditions following the acquisition of a business XpertHR provides guidance on the issues to be taken into account when considering the harmonisation of terms and conditions following the acquisition of a business. 

Case law: TUPE The XpertHR case reports section provides details of decisions on TUPE, including:

• Spaceright Europe Ltd v Baillavoine and another [2011] EWCA Civ 1565 CA The Court of Appeal held that, for there to be an automatic unfair dismissal under TUPE, there does not need to have been a particular transfer or transferee in existence or in contemplation at the time of the dismissal. 
• Key2Law (Surrey) LLP v De'Antiquis [2011] EWCA Civ 1567 CA The Court of Appeal has held that a transfer from a company in administration does not lead to an exemption from automatic employee transfer under reg.8(7) of TUPE. 
• Hardy and others v Meter U Ltd ET/1700982/10 to ET/1700986/10 The employment tribunal had to decide the exceptionally difficult issue of whether or not employees who were TUPE transferred to a company that engaged individuals only under a franchise agreement were unfairly dismissed.