If your job is affected by a business sale, outsourcing, or a change of contractor, TUPE gives you important protections — and raises technical questions that are easy to get wrong.
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, known as TUPE, protect employees when a business or part of a business changes hands, or when a service is outsourced, brought back in-house, or moved from one contractor to another (a "service provision change"). Where TUPE applies, affected employees transfer automatically to the new employer on their existing terms and conditions, and their continuity of employment carries over as if they had always worked for the new employer.
Dismissing someone because of a TUPE transfer is automatically unfair, unless the employer can show an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce. Similarly, changes to your terms and conditions made because of the transfer are generally void, even if you appear to agree to them at the time — this protection exists specifically to stop a transfer being used as an opportunity to worsen your position.
Both the outgoing and incoming employer have legal obligations to inform, and in many circumstances consult, affected employees or their representatives about the transfer — including why it is happening, when, and what measures either employer plans to take as a result. A failure to properly inform and consult can itself give rise to a claim, separate from any dismissal or change of terms.
It is common for a genuine redundancy situation to arise around a TUPE transfer — for example, where two overlapping teams are merged and fewer roles are needed overall. This does not mean TUPE prevents redundancies; it means the ordinary rules on fair redundancy selection and process apply on top of the TUPE-specific protections. If you have been told your role is affected by both a transfer and a possible redundancy, both sets of rules need to be considered together, and we can advise on both at once. See our redundancy advice for more on your wider entitlements.
TUPE is one of the most technical areas of employment law for businesses going through a sale, restructure, or change of supplier. We advise employers on whether TUPE applies to a given transaction, on meeting information and consultation obligations correctly, and on managing any redundancies or harmonisation of terms that follow a transfer without exposing the business to claims. This work often sits alongside our wider employer services.
Call us on 020 3058 3365 or complete the form for a free, confidential assessment, whether you are an employee affected by a transfer or an employer managing one.
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