Redundancy rights on transfers

A new owner is set to take on all staff who will have protection under TUPE. We have been told that, while our core conditions will remain the same, our pensions and redundancy pay scheme will not transfer. We have also been told that after a year the new employer can even change our core conditions. Is this true?

If the business you work in is transferred under TUPE you will have the right to maintain all of your terms and conditions, except for your pension rights. This is the only area currently excluded from protection under TUPE.

However, you have the right to whatever redundancy pay terms you could have benefited from under your old employer. This was confirmed recently by the European Court of Justice. The court held that workers' TUPE rights covered all redundancy arrangements, even where the redundancy pay scheme was itself expressed as an early retirement scheme.

The ruling makes it clear that after a transfer, workers can voluntarily agree to changes to their contracts, but not if the changes have only been brought about as a result of the transfer, for example to harmonise their conditions with those of existing staff.

Finally, there is nothing in the UK legislation that limits the protection provided by TUPE to just one year.

* More information: Martin and others v South Bank University C-4/01