Law Queries

Is it true that if work is transferred to a new employer the staff who are identified with the work have to transfer over? Our employer has said there will be a transfer but none of the workers want to go to the new employer, who has a bad reputation locally.

It is the case that if work is transferred the staff associated or identified with it normally transfer.

Individuals can always refuse to transfer but in almost every case they will lose the right to claim unfair dismissal or redundancy should their current employer not want to keep them on.

There are some rare cases where individuals have been able to refuse to transfer and have successfully claimed job protection rights. These are where the circumstances of the transfer are particularly poor and where the new employer would not be in a position to offer anything like the terms offered by the existing employer.

* More information: LRD booklet, Transfers - an LRD guide to the TUPE regulations