Company I work for has been taken over

maggiesoup

Does anyone have a link or guideline as to what happens with employment contracts when another company takes over the business?

Thanks.

Jillanddy

What kind of takeover?

As a general rule nothing much happens to contracts. Immediately. But that doesn't necessarily last long. 

To get any decent advice you'll need to tell us more. 

elsien

The starting point. Bearing in mind ACAS advice is often around best practice, so what should happen, rather than what must happen which may be much less than people think.

https://www.acas.org.uk/tupe

Jillanddy

elsien said:

The starting point. Bearing in mind ACAS advice is often around best practice, so what should happen, rather than what must happen which may be much less than people think.

https://www.acas.org.uk/tupe

It might not be a TUPE. There are other kinds of takeovers.

maggiesoup

Jillanddy said:

What kind of takeover?

As a general rule nothing much happens to contracts. Immediately. But that doesn't necessarily last long. 

To get any decent advice you'll need to tell us more. 

A property letting company selling their business to a bigger property letting company (Scotland)

Unfortunately not much done so far apart from new owners coming to meet & greet verbally.   My query really was employment law, ie if  a company takes over another company, do they legally have to continue with our employment contract?  Also, one of my colleagues mentioned she thought that if you'd been employed for less than 2 years then any company can "let you go" without any reason.   I appreciate it's all a bit hazy, just looking for pointers at the moment. Thanks.

YBR

If the company that is your employer still exists then nothing happens - this is where the company owner/shareholder(s) has change and you're still trading under the same company name, and it's perhaps come a subsidiary of the bigger company.
If you are transferred so a different company employs you then the TUPE regulations come into force - see the ACAS link. TUPE protects your contractual Ts&Cs at the time of the transfer, but once done the employer can do what they like. Note also that I've been bitten when a benefit was deemed to be "Custom and Practice" and not contractual.

And yes, there are very few rights for employees of less than 2 years service.

Marcon

Also, one of my colleagues mentioned she thought that if you'd been employed for less than 2 years then any company can "let you go" without any reason.   I appreciate it's all a bit hazy, just looking for pointers at the moment. Thanks.

Any company can sack anyone at any time, with or without a good reason. Whether there are then adverse consequences for the party doing the sacking depends on a number of factors, particularly length of continuous service by the sacked employee. If this under two years (add on any statutory notice period if the dismissal is without notice and/or is with pay in lieu of notice), then there is unlikely to be any comeback, unless the dismissal is on grounds of unlawful discrimination of some description.

Thrugelmir

In any takeover situation they'll be redundancies unfortunately.  You'll know soon enough what the future holds for you personally. 

CKhalvashi

Is this a share sale or another type of takeover?

If a share sale, you'll have nothing to worry about for now, as your employer has not changed in any way.

If another type of takeover, you should have been informed and had a say in this, however if an insolvency sale, these negotiations may have been extremely fast and there may not have been time to do this. It will be more important in this case to find the exact terms.

Once this is known, further advice can be given.

maggiesoup

It's a takeover and the current company will be renamed. I doesn't bode well methinks

Marcon

maggiesoup said:

It's a takeover and the current company will be renamed. I doesn't bode well methinks

Renaming a company doesn't make it a new company; it just makes it a company with a new name. The fact it has been taken over (if by that you mean the shares have changed hands) means there has been no transfer of undertaking, so not sure what you think 'doesn't bode well' ?