Company acquisition

400ixl

Tupe is not always a bad thing. Have seen examples where the procuring company wanted to consolidate the contracts and that meant the incoming staff getting better pay, holiday and additional benefits.

Tupe has rules about how you have to be consulted and communicated with, so first question to asked them is whether Tupe will apply. If yes then do some homework on the topic of what it does and doesn't allow.

There isn't much in the way of leeway in refusing the new contract (provided it is within the Tupe rules) as effectively that counts as you resigning.

The vast majority of Tupe's go without issue and the employee see's little difference other than the name on their payslip and some management changes.

JohnBravo

Brie said:

The situations like this I've seen there was TUPE in place and therefore there was an extension of all the employment rights for 2 years.  So no changes to benefits, continuing to accrue service as if in the original company, same holidays etc. 

In one situation about a year after the TUPE was put in place all the jobs were off shored so everyone TUPEd were made redundant so were redundant on the original company's terms with all those years of service plus the one year with the new company.  Not too bad a result generally. 

Next time I saw this the new company waited to make TUPEd people redundant 25 months after the start so it was all on just their terms and service so just 2+ years not the 20+ some of the people had been doing in the job.  It was rather heartbreaking to witness frankly as the timing was so blatantly used to lessen the costs to the acquiring company.  That said the alternative was that the individuals could have quit and got no redundancy whatsoever.  

Thanks for bringing this scenario up.
Right so the idea is to sense if something is up and quit ahead of time rather than wait to be pushed against the wall.

Marcon

JohnBravo said:

Brie said:

The situations like this I've seen there was TUPE in place and therefore there was an extension of all the employment rights for 2 years.  So no changes to benefits, continuing to accrue service as if in the original company, same holidays etc. 

In one situation about a year after the TUPE was put in place all the jobs were off shored so everyone TUPEd were made redundant so were redundant on the original company's terms with all those years of service plus the one year with the new company.  Not too bad a result generally. 

Next time I saw this the new company waited to make TUPEd people redundant 25 months after the start so it was all on just their terms and service so just 2+ years not the 20+ some of the people had been doing in the job.  It was rather heartbreaking to witness frankly as the timing was so blatantly used to lessen the costs to the acquiring company.  That said the alternative was that the individuals could have quit and got no redundancy whatsoever.  

If TUPE applies service is continuous, so can't be based on service just on the post-TUPE period.

JohnBravo said:

Brie said:

The situations like this I've seen there was TUPE in place and therefore there was an extension of all the employment rights for 2 years.  So no changes to benefits, continuing to accrue service as if in the original company, same holidays etc. 

In one situation about a year after the TUPE was put in place all the jobs were off shored so everyone TUPEd were made redundant so were redundant on the original company's terms with all those years of service plus the one year with the new company.  Not too bad a result generally. 

Next time I saw this the new company waited to make TUPEd people redundant 25 months after the start so it was all on just their terms and service so just 2+ years not the 20+ some of the people had been doing in the job.  It was rather heartbreaking to witness frankly as the timing was so blatantly used to lessen the costs to the acquiring company.  That said the alternative was that the individuals could have quit and got no redundancy whatsoever.  

Thanks for bringing this scenario up.
Right so the idea is to sense if something is up and quit ahead of time rather than wait to be pushed against the wall.

The scenario as described is quite simply wrong. If you're going to be given a decent payoff to go quietly, why would you jump ship and miss out?

DullGreyGuy

The only real feature of TUPE is the fact your start date is considered to be your start date with the original company rather than the date you came into your new employer - this assumes your employer is actually changing, if it isn't because the whole company is being bought then its a moot point anyway. 

TUPE doesn't stop companies from changing terms etc, there are potentially just more challenges against it than in other circumstances but there are typically many levers companies can pull to push change through, a common one being that discretionary bonuses etc will not be given to anyone remaining on the old terms. The first M&A I was involved in (actually on both sides of being an impacted employee and being part of the projects) this got pretty much all but one person to agree to the new terms. The one person that didnt happened to be in my team, was certain he was going to be made redundant and had a 18 month notice period... he ultimately was right and made the right choice not to sign the new terms with a 3 month notice period. 

Marcon

JohnBravo said:

On-the-coast said:

are you a key employee (technical know how etc?)
I’ve known such individuals being offered retention bonuses in these circumstances. 

yes, I am technical but am I indispensable?
I reckon no one is indispensable
Thank you

The graveyards are full of indispensable people...

Savvy_Sue

JohnBravo said:

When it comes to forming a trade union there isn't many people. I would say 60%+ is subcontracted and abroad so different rules apply to them.

You don't form one, you join one. Use the union finder tool to identify the best one. 

JohnBravo

............

penners324

Have been through a company being acquired. Buyers promised that nothing would change, brand was valuable, etc, etc. Within 18 months everyone was redundant and the place closed down.

Get your CV upto date and start looking elsewhere