TUPE is shorthand for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.
It protects employees when organisations:
- sell or buy part or all of a business as a going concern
- outsource or take a service back in-house or switch from one service provider to another
- carry out certain property transactions.
The employees who fall within the scope and any liabilities associated with them transfer automatically from the old employer to the acquiring entity or new service provider.
TUPE can be complex and getting it wrong can be costly. Some of its requirements feel at odds with the culture of many UK organisations and its core concept of transferring employees automatically from one employer to another is often contrary to what US and Canadian organisations expect.
We advise organisations on how to navigate the TUPE minefield. We help them avoid the pitfalls, manage their risk, and reduce their legal and financial exposure.
We also advise on the employment aspects of other corporate transactions, including share sales that do not usually have a TUPE element.
Clients call upon the Fox Williams employment team’s expertise on a wide variety of transactions from multi-jurisdictional deals to UK-only transactions. The team acts for clients across the firm’s different sectors. It is particularly experienced in advising North American clients on the employment aspects of UK acquisitions.
