TUPE ruling

The European Court of Justice has ruled that TUPE protection applies on the transfer of a contract from one contractor to another, even if no staff are taken on. The court ruled that catering company Sodexho, as the new contractor, had to take on liability for employees, if carrying out the same services and using a substantial part of the assets used by the first contractor. The court said that catering was not just an activity based on manpower but that it required a significant amount of equipment. This meant that there had to have been a transfer of assets.

* Carlito Abler and others v Sodexho Case C-340/01