Consult and inform at the time of TUPE- what, who and how!

Both the transferor employer (the one transferring the employees out) and the transferee employer (the one receiving the transferred employees have particular accountabilities and responsibilities under the TUPE legislation for informing the affected employees about some things which are related to the transfer, and also for consulting on some of the aspects. Even though we it is highly recommended to the employers to both the sides to take the professional advice related to their particular circumstances, here is a quick guide for consulting and informing at the time of the TUPE transfer.

Communicate knowledge

Being the transferor, there are a couple pieces of information which you must give to the employees who are going to get affected by the transfer.

You should tell them that the transfer is taking place and why.

• In case there are going to be any economic, social or legal implications for them, you are required to tell them. These are the things relating to their financial implications, contracts, or other things which impact their working conditions.
• You should give them up-to-date info about the use of the agency workers.
• You must tell them in case you (or the transferee in case you are the transferor) expect taking any measures because of the transfer, and in case so, what the measures are going to be. Measures would be the things such as job losses, location, changes to the working hour’s arrangement etc.

Consult

Along with giving the information mentioned above, you should also consult with the employees in case you consider taking any measures because of the result of the proposed transfer.

You must make a genuine consultation, with a view of answering the questions and looking for an agreement, listening to & considering the suggestions along with explaining the reasons in case you require rejecting them. Nonetheless, this is not a negotiation & you don’t have to consult about the decision for making the transfer in the first place.

People who should be informed and consulted with

Both consultation and information provision should be conducted with the employee representatives, unless you have less than ten employees in which case you can directly talk with your staff.

In case you have trade unions, the representatives of the trade union can be used for this whole process, alternatively you can also administer and regulate an election for finding the best representatives. It is worth observing that even in case the size of the workplace implies employee representatives should be consulted, this does not mean you cannot also talk with or involve with the staff directly.

Consultation with the transferring employees and their information

The duties of informing and consulting are only applicable to the own staff of the employer- there is no need of the transferee to have any connection with the employee who will be coming over.

Nonetheless, clearly there are a number of benefits to the transferee both consulting and informing employees of the transferor who will be moving across.