TUPE: transfer of undertakings

TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. When the business you work for is sold, or your employer loses the contract you work on, your job does not simply vanish — the law moves it, terms intact, to whoever takes over.

When does TUPE apply?

In two situations: a business transfer, where a business or part of one changes hands as a going concern, and a service provision change, where work done by one contractor moves to another or is taken back in-house. If an organised grouping of employees is assigned to the work being transferred, TUPE is likely engaged — the label the companies put on the deal does not decide it.

What actually transfers under TUPE?

Your employment itself, on its existing terms: pay, holiday, continuity of service, and most contractual rights and liabilities move automatically to the new employer as if your contract had always been with them. Certain occupational pension rights are treated separately, with the new employer owing minimum pension obligations rather than a mirror of the old scheme.

Can my new employer change my contract or hours after a TUPE transfer?

Changes are heavily restricted. A variation is void if the sole or principal reason for it is the transfer itself, unless there is an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce and the employee agrees, or the contract itself permits the change. Time passing does not automatically make transfer-related changes safe — the reason for the change is what matters.

How long are you protected under TUPE?

There is no fixed end date. Protection against changes to your terms, or dismissal, lasts for as long as the transfer is the sole or principal reason for what the employer does. The further a change is from the transfer, and the more clearly it has a separate business reason, the harder it becomes to link the two.

What if I am dismissed because of the transfer?

A dismissal where the sole or principal reason is the transfer is automatically unfair for employees with the qualifying period of service, unless the employer shows an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing workforce changes. Claims go to the employment tribunal within the usual three months less one day (six months less one day for dismissals and acts on or after 1 October 2026), adjusted by ACAS Early Conciliation.

Do I have to move to the new employer?

No — you can object to transferring. But objecting normally means your employment simply ends at the transfer without dismissal, so you generally lose the right to notice pay or redundancy money. Objection is rarely the smart move without something better lined up; take stock before refusing a transfer on principle.

Can I refuse a TUPE transfer and take redundancy?

Usually not. If you object to transferring, your employment normally ends on the transfer date without a dismissal, so there is no redundancy payment or notice pay. The exception is where the transfer would involve a substantial change in your working conditions to your material detriment: then you may be able to treat yourself as dismissed and bring a claim.

What are my rights to information and consultation?

Both employers must inform — and in some cases consult — appropriate representatives of affected employees before the transfer, covering when it will happen, why, and its implications. Failure can lead to a tribunal award of up to thirteen weeks' gross pay per affected employee, payable in addition to other claims.

The two situations TUPE covers

The first is the classic business transfer: a company, or a distinct part of one, is sold or otherwise moves to a new owner as a going concern — the café chain acquired by a rival, the family firm bought by a group. The test asks whether an economic entity retained its identity across the change of hands.

The second, added for the United Kingdom's huge outsourcing economy, is the service provision change: a client outsources work to a contractor, switches contractors, or brings the work back in-house. Cleaning, catering, security, IT support and countless other contracted services move this way, and each move can be a TUPE transfer for the organised grouping of employees whose principal purpose was that client's work.

In both cases the effect is the same: the employment contracts of assigned employees transfer automatically to the incoming employer, with continuity of employment preserved. The new employer inherits rights, duties and most liabilities — including ones the old employer built up, like unpaid wages or discrimination claims.

Who transfers turns on assignment. TUPE moves the employees assigned to the organised grouping — the people whose work is principally the transferring business or contract, not everyone who occasionally touches it. A cleaner spending ninety per cent of her hours on one client site is plainly assigned; a supervisor splitting time across six contracts may not be. Disputes about who was assigned, and who was parked on a contract shortly before transfer, are a staple of tribunal litigation in this area.

The core protections

• 1 Automatic transfer on existing terms. Pay, hours, holiday and contractual benefits move as they stand. Employees do not reapply for their own jobs, and no new probation can be imposed.
• 2 Void variations. Contract changes are void if the sole or principal reason is the transfer, unless an economic, technical or organisational (ETO) reason entailing workforce changes applies and the employee agrees.
• 3 Automatically unfair dismissal. Dismissing an employee because of the transfer is automatically unfair for those with qualifying service, subject to the same ETO defence — genuine redundancies during reorganisation can fall within it.
• 4 Information and consultation. Both employers must inform — and where measures are envisaged, consult — representatives of affected staff, on pain of awards up to thirteen weeks' gross pay per employee.

An office cleaner has worked for CleanCo on the same client site for six years at £13.50 an hour. The client retenders the contract and FreshCo wins it. On the changeover date, TUPE transfers her employment to FreshCo automatically.

Employer before transfer

Employer after transfer

Hourly rate and hours

Continuity of service

Three weeks in, FreshCo tells her to accept £12.80 an hour to “match the team rate” or leave. A pay cut whose principal reason is the transfer is void under TUPE, and if she is dismissed for refusing, her six years' preserved service supports an automatically unfair dismissal claim — starting with ACAS Early Conciliation within three months less one day (six months less one day for dismissals and acts on or after 1 October 2026).

Continuous employment

ACAS Early Conciliation

Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006

Business transfers and takeovers

Employment tribunals

TUPE transfers: can you refuse, and can terms change?

What TUPE means for employees: when it applies, whether you can refuse a transfer and take redundancy, and whether your new employer can change your terms.