Myth:
You can’t change the terms and conditions of a transferred employee under TUPE
Busted:
There is no absolute bar on changing an employee’s terms and conditions of employment following a TUPE transfer but your ability to make changes will depend on the reason you wish to do so.
If the reason for making changes has nothing to do with the transfer you can go ahead and do it provided the contract terms permit the change or the parties agree [see Myth: You can vary an employment contract by giving notice for more information]. This might apply where your business wins a new contract and has to adjust the working patters of its staff to fulfil it. Equally, you can make changes where these become necessary because of revisions to external regulations which your business is obliged to follow as these are unrelated to the TUPE transfer.
The TUPE Regulations also allow businesses to vary terms and conditions of staff by agreement if they can establish an economical, technical or organisational reason for doing so which brings about a change in the workforce. This is known as an “ETO” reason and will only apply if you wish to make wholesale changes to the numbers of people you employ or to their job functions. So, for example you would need to demonstrate that the changes you require are necessary because they relate to a redundancy or restructuring programme.
You will not be able to harmonise the terms and conditions of transferred staff for administrative convenience and there is no “safe” time after the transfer for you to do this. That said, the more time that has elapsed from the transfer the less likely it is that the changes you wish to make will be deemed to be because of it. To avoid difficulties, it is very important for you to steer clear of using the “language” of harmonisation when you are proposing changes and instead focus on the reason behind your decision.
It is also worth mentioning that you can change the terms and conditions of staff that have been collectively agreed by a union if you were not party to those discussions (as will usually be the case if these were agreed before the transfer). To do this, the transfer must have taken place on or after 31 January 2014 and you must wait one year from the transfer and demonstrate that the changes you wish to make are, when taken together, “no less favourable” than the previous terms.
Getting this wrong is costly. You will not be able to rely on changes which are, subsequently, deemed to be invalid even if the employee has agreed to them and received a financial incentive to do so. We therefore recommend that you take advice before making significant changes to your workforces’ terms and conditions of employment.
For information on any of the above or our IMhrplus service, please contact:
Jenny Arrowsmith
Associate Solicitor
For and on behalf of Irwin Mitchell LLP
Wellington Place, Leeds, LS1 4BZ
DDI: 0113 218 6446
Mobile: 07718 668646
Email: jenny.arrowsmith@irwinmitchell.com
