TUPE protection

Q: Our jobs transferred under TUPE about six months ago and now our new employer is trying to change our pay structure. How long are our existing terms and conditions protected under TUPE?

A: The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) apply when there is a "relevant transfer" because a business has changed hands or part of it has been contracted out. All employees working in the business (or the part of it that transfers) will transfer with it, and the regulations say that their terms and conditions must stay the same.

There is no time limit for this protection, so your terms and conditions are still protected six months later.

However, TUPE only bars changes that are made because of the transfer itself. They do not stop an employer from changing contractual terms for other reasons.

The longer the time lapse between the transfer and the proposed change to working conditions, the harder it may be to show that the changes are a result of the transfer itself. While there is nothing to prevent you relying on TUPE two years down the line, for example, you would only succeed if you could show that the transfer was the reason for the changes.