company lost cleaning contract and tupe

soul75

hi all i hope i have put this in the right place but really need some help and advice.

my company has lost there cleaning contract to another firm,i am totally lost to where i stand with this all,basically my company clean train station toilets ect all over the midlands and this other firm have just won the contract,all i have been told is yes we have lost the contract and we will finish mid august,i was a bit shocked as i have seen the new company dropping off there trolleys as every site i go to, even before my boss new about it,so i did the right thing and told him and he didnt even know about this,a week later he rang me to say yes we have lost the contract and you will be tuped over to them,hmmm well two more weeks have gone and no one knows nothing about it or if i be going over,no contact from the new company,my superviser said she has emailed hr but has not had a reply,where do i stand and whats the process i have tried reading up on tupe but its confusing me to bits and i am worried and stressed that im gonna lose my job i have had for 4 and half years what should i do,ive tried contacting superviser and manger and they dont know either

sorry its a long post but im so stressed out and worried come end of august i be without a job.

geminilady

Hi I have had cleaning jobs for years and been tuped a few times,try not to worry the new firm will probably contact you soon,I know they cannot take over until the day after the present contract finishes.Your hours and pay have to stay as they are and you will still be doing your present job just with a different boss.

bluesnake

just keep a copy of your old terms etc, like number of days holiday, working hours etc. as they new company should take you on the same terms.

A favourite of one of one outsourcing company was that the new company had 28 days a year holiday, but the exiting have 33 plus pubic holidays. They tried to only give staff 28 days

Another company insisted because they were an American company, only gave the same no of days holidays as it US staff 21 days including the public ones

On the other side, if you cause too many waves..... Still best to have options.

soul75

thanks for the advice,i hope it will all be ok and i will let you know when all is done and sorted,the the other things i forgot to mention is i am mobile and have a company van and phone,i do bascially 6 sites and only two sites,the larger stations have there equipment at (one station has somone from another cleaning firm working there who was tuped over already) but not at the small stations,also i only do part time can they just put me at one site and take away my van and phone the nearest station is 35 mins away or like you say everything has to be the same as it is now?

bluesnake

soul75 wrote: »

,,,like you say everything has to be the same as it is now?

Only your terms and conditions have to be the same, but the exact same job and place of work may be different.

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1655
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_of_Undertakings_%28Protection_of_Employment%29_Regulations_2006

At the new company, after a length of time, some companies have a 'restructure' and this allows then to get rid of redundant staff. Another issue if the new company offers pay increases every 6 months at say 10%, and your old one only every year at 5%, under TUPE you will only get the old companies increase.

This is the time to collate paperwork and emails.

bluesnake

Re-reading your post, sorry, got involved in the TUPE question. I would contact the new company and ask for a job asap.

The contract has been lost. There is probably no need for the new company to take you on. TUPE only used for transferring one lot of staff in a business to another when a business has been bought, and this is not your situation.Also to mange and keep track staff with two lots of rule is often too much bother.

You are still contracted by the old company which will either pay you off (I think it is one week for every full year of employment) if there is not enough work, or go broke trying to pay. Management may get paid first, emptying the bank. There may be a clause in the contract where the new company has to employ the old staff?

marybelle01

bluesnake wrote: »

Re-reading your post, sorry, got involved in the TUPE question. I would contact the new company and ask for a job asap.

The contract has been lost. There is probably no need for the new company to take you on. TUPE only used for transferring one lot of staff in a business to another when a business has been bought, and this is not your situation.

You are still contracted by the old company which will either pay you off (I think it is one week for every full year of employment) if there is not enough work, or go broke trying to pay. Management may get paid first, emptying the bank;)

Sorry, but how do you work this out? TUPE does apply to the transfer of staff between employers due to the awarding of contracts to a new company. So the OP has no need to ask for a job - she has one with the new company.

bap98189

marybelle01 wrote: »

Sorry, but how do you work this out? TUPE does apply to the transfer of staff between employers due to the awarding of contracts to a new company. So the OP has no need to ask for a job - she has one with the new company.

Not necessarily. If the contract has been awarded to a new company then there is nothing to stop the new company using their existing staff to carry out the work. In that case the current company would have to either find the OP other work or make her redundant.

I would contact the new company and find out what the situation is.

soul75

thanks for the info so,i rang my superviser who now advises me that head office does not have any info on me being tuped,the area manager has decieded to go on hols,she says they have no proof of this happing which is kinda worrying now as my area manager said he recieved a email regarding losing the contract so who knows whats going off,i think its time i started looking else where as the company i have been working for have been a right pain in the bum,not had a hols for over a yr due to only me being able to do the job,which at first i didnt mind but now its getting to me,im not sure what todo and i am getting stressed,all she said is at the minute you have a job and keep going but am i gonna be biten in the bum and be made redundant ive only worked for the company for 4 and half years so wont get much in the way of payment.

o and i am a man by the way!!!

i keep updating with any news as this could get interesting!!!

Wellery82

I believe that the new contractor will have to consult with you in a "reasonable" amount of time before they take on the contract. As this is open to interpretation it may be only a week or so before the contract changes they do this, that will not be particularly professional but may happen.

Given the work is transferring however you have the right to transfer under TUPE and your Ts and Cs will remain the same. As part of the consutlation the new contractor will need to advise of any measures they may take that may affect you - for example if they are going to carry out a redundancy exercise to reduce staff numbers or carrying out any restructuring. If they do not notify you of any measures then they cannot make you redundant without demonstrating a reason that is not linked to the TUPE transfer. This generally would mean your employment is protected for a decent period of time, albeit if circumstances change unexpectedly they could commence redundancy exercises.

I would advise asking your own HR whether you will be TUPEing out, and whether the new conrtactor is yet itentified. If you are TUPEing out then i would ask if a date is set for consultation, and to ask your HR if they can try and set this up

All being well your job will continue exactly how it was, the only change being you work for a new employer. Your length of service and Ts and Cs will be protected

marybelle01

bap98189 wrote: »

Not necessarily. If the contract has been awarded to a new company then there is nothing to stop the new company using their existing staff to carry out the work. In that case the current company would have to either find the OP other work or make her redundant.

I would contact the new company and find out what the situation is.

Yes there is. As Jimavfc82 has pointed out, you cannot be made redundant because you are TUPE'd. The staff on a contract go with the contract. This is a TUPE. If the new employer then has too many staff they must carry out a redundancy process that covers all the staff, not just the TUPE'd staff. Otherwise the employer is breaking the law. Alternatively it is possible for staff to be offered redundancy before the TUPE, but they cannot be forced to take such an offer since they have TUPE entitlement, and cannot be required to waive that right.