TUPE: transfer of undertakings

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 terms 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.

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, 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.

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.

Employment Tribunal · Glossary

TUPE: transfer of undertakings

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.

Last reviewed: August 2026

Employment Tribunal track

— the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 — automatically moves employees to the new employer when a business or service changes hands, preserving their terms, continuity of service and most rights, and making transfer-motivated dismissals automatically unfair.

Where this comes from

TUPE Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/246)

— the transfer rules, as amended.

Business transfers and takeovers

— gov.uk guidance on employee rights during transfers.

— practical guidance for employees and employers on transfers.

The two situations TUPE covers

The first is the classic

: 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

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

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

How it works in practice

An office cleaner has worked for CleanCo on the same client site for six years at £12.60 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 £11.80 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

claim — starting with

within three months less one day.

Common misconceptions

• “The new employer says TUPE does not apply, so it does not.”
• Whether TUPE applies is a legal question about what actually happened — tribunals decide it on the facts, not on what either company preferred to call the deal.
• “After a few months, my terms can be harmonised.”
• There is no safe waiting period. A change remains vulnerable for as long as its principal reason is the transfer.
• “Refusing to transfer preserves my rights.”
• Objecting usually ends the employment with no dismissal — and with it, most claims. It is a serious step, not a bargaining chip.
• “Everything transfers, including my pension.”
• Occupational pension rights are the main carve-out: the new employer owes minimum pension provision rather than a replica of the old scheme. Check what is actually offered.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006
• (legislation.gov.uk)
• Business transfers and takeovers
• Employment tribunals

Transferred — and then treated differently?

Start My Claim helps you map what changed, what TUPE protects and how to build your claim.

Last reviewed: August 2026.

References checked against SI 2006/246 as amended, in force 3 August 2026.

This page is explanatory only and is not legal advice. Start My Claim is self-service software, not a law firm — its tools help you build and run your own case.