Tupe

Mrs_Optimist

My DH has been TUPE'd to a new company and it will be a few months before the contract he was TUPE'd to continue to work on will be set up. He is currently working on a different contract involving an extra 2 hours travel per day. Is he entitled to claim payment for this extra time? His last employer gave him the use of a company van for the 3 years he worked there and he worked locally.


The new employers are stating that the work force TUPE'd across have to share 1 van between 9 of them (they used to have 1 van each or shared between 2 tops). This means that they are expected to make their own way to the depot to be picked up in the work van and dropped off to the site. We have one car which I use so this will prove problematic for us. My DH contract of employment stated that he "may" have use of a company vehicle for work use only (including travel to and from). "May" is a red herring because he and the rest of the workforce all had use of company vans and always have done. The same with a mobile phone, he is currently using his own phone with his own credit, whereas he had use of a company mobile before.

Does he have any rights over this?

My other concern is that he is currently working on a different contract to the one he was TUPE'd to work on, because that one is not yet up and running. The current job runs for 8 weeks, the one he is supposed to work on starts at end of month. Can he demand to be moved on to the right contract when it is up and running? Will he lose his rights if he continues to work on the current job and so misses the start of the job he was transferred across to work on?

Thanks for any replies and I hope that this makes sense!

karenccs67

My husband has been TUPE'd twice now, but his terms and conditions have remained the same. The only thing that changed was they he went from weekly paid to monthly. Whilst some people in the yard were able to take vehicels home with their original employer, the new employers have not allowed this. There wasn't anything in their contract that says they may use company vehicles to and from work, it was a gesture) It is your responsibility to get to work, it's not up to your employer to provide the means. Unfortunately I think you will just have to see how the new employers are and hopefully things will fine for you.

Mrs_Optimist

There has been a further development and I would appreciate any knowledge/experience from you readers.

The contract he has been TUPE'd to work on will be starting whilst he will be working an entirely different and unrelated contract. The idea was that he would be on this different contract for the interim until his TUPE'd contract was up and running. Can he demand to move to the contract he was TUPE'd across from to work on? MY fear is that if he is kept on a different unrelated contract his TUPE rights will be waived because he is not on his intended contract. So should the company decide in 3 months time to hand his contract back to the council (entirely plausible as they have bitten off far more than they can chew, have a ridiculously low budget and unrealistic expectations of how much work can be undertaken in one day) because my DH "may" be working on an unrelated contract he would not again be TUPE'd across with his contract to any further new employer.

I hope this makes sense and appreciate any feed back.

Thanks in advance.

getmore4less

What I don't undrstand is how he has moved companies already.

The contract should moved with the people at the same time.

Mrs_Optimist

Start date was 1st July, but new employers are still not ready so he is working on a different contract involving an extra 2 hours unpaid travel per day on a job that will take him until end of October. The contract he should be on should start on 26th July according to his employers, but they have already stated that they think there are too many men working on that contract (they are trying to cut corners because they put in an "at cost" bid to win the work). To be fair DH old employers were sly and did transfer too many men across that were not working on the contract at the time of TUPE, but DH has worked on that contract for over 3 years. My real worry is that he will be left on a completely different contract and so lose his TUPE rights if, as suspected, the new employers cannot make the contract work and so hand it back for retender.

Any advice please?

Bobl

This is confusing.

When you say 'contract' I think you mean 'job' rather than employment contract. You need to look at the terms of his employment rather than individual jobs he works on.

Is there a staff handbook, did he sign an employment contract?

Mrs_Optimist

Sorry for confusion.

It is a job (referred to as a contract) for the local authority (LA) to refit bathrooms on LA housing. DH has done this work for over 3 years. He is a plumber. It came up for retender, was won by new employers and although DH was TUPE'd on 1st July, new employers are still not ready so he is working on a completely different job for new employer, not involving any kind of plumbing and an extra 2 hours on his day unpaid.

If he is not moved across to the LA job previously worked on, when his new employers are ready to work on it, and instead is kept on current job, will he lose his TUPE rights if new employer decide to hand job (contract) back to LA at a later date because it is not cost effective for them to continue? Can he insist that he is moved to his correct job? after all that is why he was TUPE'd. If it is handed back and put up for retender my DH could be TUPE'd again, but if he is not working on that job he won't be.

As things stand his working circumstances have changed dramatically with the exception of his salary. He still hasn't had a new contract of employment, although I understand his previous one will continue until that time.

This is our first dealing with TUPE and it is not going as smoothly as we were led to believe it would!

Thanks for any responses.

Oldernotwiser

What does his union say about the process?

Mrs_Optimist

They are looking into it but that doesn't help DH in meantime! He isn't trying to be difficult but it is not a seamless transaction as he was told it would be and I am really worried about him being caught working on a different job and so losing any protection TUPE would offer as a result.

Bobl

I think you need to take the job out of the picture completely, it is not important, his terms of employment are.

As long as what he is doing is in line with his employment terms, then there is no problem. If they are making him do something that is not within his old (and should be new) contract terms then they are in breach.

He needs to get hold of a copy of his employment contract and use that in the discussions.

Mrs_Optimist

Without a doubt his employment terms are being changed, typical examples
1. 2 hours per day extra travel (unpaid) which he never had before.
2. Use of a company van (which I understand was always a gesture not a right, but with his last job was advertised as a perk and he always had from word go) has nonetheless been withdrawn - he will be expected to use his own transport (and pay)
3. Same with company mobile phone - he will be expected to use his own (and pay)

I reiterate my main worry though, does his new employer have the right after TUPE to then move him to an entirely different job, without his agreement, and if so, are his rights still protected that particular job (contract) is switched to a different company? I think that the job is an important issue.

He just wants to work on the same job he has done for last 3 years, not be switched over to something else. His employers have different ideas and I want to know if this will be to his deteriment.

PS Loving your signature!