What are the benefits of TUPE.

Dreams_of_Being_Debt_Free

Hi All

Recently been told my employment is at risk and been advised about TUPE to a new employer but also been told the 90 Day consultation is void if I agree to TUPE and would need to make fresh application for redeployment? Is there anyone who can help me with this at what my rights are? Further to this I have requested to a formal request to join the Company pension scheme and during the consultation period but have found HR are dragging their feet and say I cant join whilst in the 90 day period even though no notice of reduncy has been given Yet? My interpretation of the law and employmet rights differs to that of the HR Dept. Anyone know where I stand on this? PLEASE HELP

p00hsticks

I don't fully understand your situation from what you describe. TUPE stands for 'Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)' , and relates to the situation where work and employees are tranferred from one comany to another. More details here...

http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/employment/trade-union-rights/tupe/page16289.html

From what you say it sounds to me like there is a possiblity that the work you do may be taken over by another company, with you now working for that new employer. If that happens, then the TUPE laws ensure that your terms and conditions will remain the same with the new employer as they were with the old.

Note that in my epxerience, the only thing that can't be TUPE'd across is the right to continue to belong to the old company pension scheme - which is why the company may not want to set this up at this stage.

It also sounds that there is a separate possiblity that you might be made redundant - hence the 90 days consultation.

So are you being given a choice to transfer to a new employer or to stay with the old one and possibly face redundancy, or is this decision being made by management ?

Note that in my experience, the only thing that can't be TUPE'd across is the right to continue to belong to the old company pension scheme - which is why the company may not want to set this up at this stage. If you transfer or get made redundant then they'll have been little point in you joining it at all, so it makes sense to me for the current company to wait to see if you'll be employed by them for much longer.......

bookduck

From what I understand your current terms of employment including salary will be taken on by the new company.

The big issues are often pension you may be moving from a good one to not so good one (also depends how long you have worked there. Think it will be of no benefit to join the pension now, as often the pension is frozen and if you were to join you may not get any benefit from your existing job this late in the day. The new company may pay more for less hours, or vice versa. weekend or shift work may be involved. Some people do report that after a certain length of time they loose their jobs, as the old staff set in or get posted say from London to Aberdeen and possibly elsewhere and then the branch gets closed down.


If you do not accept the TUPE is there another like job which you can be deployed in. If not then redundancy may be on the cards.

Speak to your union. I think it would be unwise to agree straight off, and would be better to have the 90 day consultation to work out an agreeable deal to any issues, rather than have your rights trodden on.

Personally I's ask the other long-standing employees of the other company what has happened to the to other workforce of the other companies that they have absorbed, as their past may be your future. I'd also ask how much the employees get paid too

Dreams_of_Being_Debt_Free

Thanks for the messages. I have taken your comments on bored and will try and delve a little deeper to find out where I actually stand through HR. There are no long standing employees to ask for their opinion as we all started more or less at the same time. There has been no mention of the pension being closed during the consultation as I have not been given redundancy notice only the possible risk to employment as there are options to redeploy else where but would mean a commute of 1.5 to 3 hours a day in each direction via car. Not ideal but would need to consider if i want stay employed? The jobs market being what it is at the current time. Hopefully I can still take advantage of the pension scheme as before the end of the financial year?

p00hsticks

Dreams_of_Being_Debt_Free wrote: »

Hopefully I can still take advantage of the pension scheme as before the end of the financial year?

The thing is that if you are transferred to a new employer under the TUPE legislation or are made redundant, you won't be eliglible to stay in the current companies pension scheme. And there is very little point in you joining for just a few weeks ... so I can't see any advantage to you in trying to join it now until you are sure that you are likely to be remaining with the company.

bookduck

P00hstick is correct. Even if you did start a pension with the old/existing company the amount in it would probably be to little to accrue any real value.

When I said "Personally I's ask the other long-standing employees of the other company what has happened to the to other workforce of the other companies that they have absorbed, as their past may be your future. I'd also ask how much the employees get paid too" I was referring to asking the new company's staff (secretly and not management) that will take you over, rather than you existing colleagues.