Service Continuity

Mark421

Basically i have worked for a massive company for over 15 years. The business i work for has now been bought by another massive company who are going to shred jobs. I am aware Tupe applies for service continuity.

Can the new owner force you to sign a new contract x months down the line to cancel the service continuity? Therefore reducing redundancy packages

therealdessie

The contract would be back to back, continuity is kept intact.

Debt_Free_Chick

You cannot opt out of what is yours, by legal right i.e. you cannot sign something to say that "service continuity is cancelled" as you have the right to that continuity under TUPE.

Jupiler

In my experience of the same (through railway privatisation, so almost identical to a takeover between two large companies), your "date entered service" remains protected.

At the point of my transfer, this date, plus certain identified benefits (pension and free/reduced rate travel facilities) were protected under TUPE.

Everything else however, was up for grabs, and there is a risk that other conditions of service could end up being 'renegotiated' in future.

For example, in my case, had I left under redundancy at the point of takeover some 11 years ago, my redundancy payout then would have been just over twice the amount I will receive in three months time (I've been made redundant now and am just getting my notice), because the enhanced redundancy package we had then was given up by union negotiators at some point over the last 11 years in return for other enhancements to pay/conditions of service. The package I am getting is still much better than the statutory minimum though, for which I am grateful I suppose!

I should add that the redundancy payout has not been reduced by altering my service continuity (that was indeed protected throughout), but by altering the formula for calculation of the total.

Debt_Free_Chick

Jupiler wrote: »

Everything else however, was up for grabs, and there is a risk that other conditions of service could end up being 'renegotiated' in future.

This is very true, but terms & conditions of employment can always be renegotiated, whether your employment transfers or not.

There is a process, however, and this requires that you are informed of potential changes and - ideally - that you consent. If you don't consent, but continue to work, then the changes are likely to be deemed as having been accepted by you, anyway (because you continued to work under the new T&Cs).

Whether or not your employment transfers, your employer can always propose and implement a change to your T&Cs of employment.

p00hsticks

Mark421 wrote: »

Basically i have worked for a massive company for over 15 years. The business i work for has now been bought by another massive company who are going to shred jobs. I am aware Tupe applies for service continuity.

Tecnically, if the second massive company completely bought out the other (by buying all the shares) then TUPE doesn't apply. That's because you're effectively still employed by the same company, though, so your service continuity should be preserved.

http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2005/07/05/30651/tupe-and-share-sale-takeovers.html