TUPE transfers, explained

TUPE, short for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, protects you when the business you work in, or the contract you work on, moves to a new employer. If you are assigned to the part that is transferring, your employment moves across automatically. Your contract continues with the new employer on the same terms, and your continuity of service is kept.

TUPE also limits what can happen around the transfer. Contract changes made because of the transfer are generally void, and a dismissal where the transfer is the main reason is automatically unfair. Both employers have to inform, and often consult, representatives of affected staff before the transfer happens. This guide covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own employment law and tribunals.

When TUPE applies

Regulation 3 covers two kinds of transfer.

Business transfers. Acas says this applies when the employer changes, its main assets transfer to the new employer, and the business activities are the same or similar afterwards. The legal test is whether an economic entity moves and keeps its identity.

Service provision changes. These happen when a client contracts out a service, changes contractor, or brings the work back in-house. Acas says TUPE applies where there is an “organised grouping of employees” whose main purpose is carrying out that work for the client. The activities afterwards must be fundamentally the same.

TUPE is unlikely to apply to:

• a sale of shares, because your employer stays the same company;
• a transfer of equipment only;
• a contract wholly or mainly for supplying goods;
• a single event or short-term task.

What transfers with you

Acas says all employees assigned to the business, or part of it, that is transferring move automatically. Under regulation 4, your contract is not ended by the transfer. Your old employer’s rights, powers, duties and liabilities under it pass to the new employer. In practice that includes your pay, hours, holiday, contractual benefits and length of service, and most liabilities, such as a claim you already had.

Your old employer must give the new employer employee liability information about you at least 28 days before the transfer. Under regulation 11 it includes your identity and age, your written statement of employment particulars, any disciplinary or grievance action in the last two years, any claims you have brought or might bring, and collective agreements that apply to you.

Pensions

Regulation 10 means TUPE does not transfer the parts of an occupational pension scheme that give old-age, invalidity or survivors’ benefits. However, under section 258 of the Pensions Act 2004, if you were eligible for an occupational scheme with your old employer, your new employer must offer some pension provision: either an occupational scheme or contributions to a stakeholder pension, at levels set out in regulations.

Can your terms be changed?

Regulation 4 says any variation of your contract is void if the sole or principal reason for it is the transfer. A change can be valid if:

• the main reason is an economic, technical or organisational (“ETO”) reason entailing changes in the workforce, which includes a change of workplace; or
• the change is to a term that came from a collective agreement and takes effect more than one year after the transfer, provided that overall it is no less favourable to you; or
• your contract already allowed the change.

Substantial change to your detriment

If the transfer involves, or would involve, a substantial change in your working conditions to your material detriment, regulation 4(9) lets you treat your contract as ended. You are then treated as dismissed by your employer, although regulation 4(10) means you cannot claim pay for a notice period you did not work. Separately, if your employer seriously breaches your contract, you keep your normal right to resign and claim constructive dismissal.

Objecting to the transfer

You can tell either employer that you object to transferring. Under regulation 4(7) and (8), your employment then ends at the transfer, but you are not treated as dismissed. That usually means no redundancy pay, notice pay or unfair dismissal claim, unless the material detriment or repudiatory breach rules apply. Objecting is a serious step, so it can help to take advice first.

Dismissal because of a transfer

Under regulation 7, if you are dismissed before or after a transfer and the sole or principal reason is the transfer, the dismissal is automatically unfair. If the main reason is an ETO reason entailing changes in the workforce, it is not automatically unfair. It may count as a redundancy, so the usual rules on fair process and redundancy pay apply.

To bring an unfair dismissal claim on 2 October 2026 you normally need two years’ continuous employment, and your service with the old employer counts. This qualifying period is due to fall to six months where the effective date of termination is on or after 1 January 2027.

Information and consultation

Under regulation 13, both your old and new employers must inform representatives of affected employees long enough before the transfer to allow consultation. They must tell them:

• that the transfer is happening, when and why;
• its legal, economic and social implications;
• any measures they plan to take in connection with it;
• for the old employer, the measures the new employer plans;
• information about agency workers they use.

If either employer plans “measures”, such as changes to shifts or roles, it must consult representatives with a view to seeking their agreement. Representatives are a recognised union or elected employee representatives. Regulation 13A lets a micro-business with fewer than 50 employees, or a transfer of fewer than 10 employees, consult each employee directly where there are no representatives.

If an employer fails in this duty, a tribunal can award up to 13 weeks’ pay per affected employee, depending on how serious the failure was (regulation 16). The tribunal time limits for TUPE claims under regulations 12 and 15 rose from three to six months for failures on or after 1 October 2026.

Steps if you are affected

1. Ask who your representatives are and what measures each employer plans.
2. Check what the new employer says will happen to your pay, hours, location and pension.
3. If a change is proposed, ask in writing what the reason is.
4. If you are dismissed, ask for the reason in writing.
5. Contact Acas for early conciliation before any tribunal claim. Most claims now have a time limit of six months less a day from the date of the problem.

What to check in your contract or letter

• Your job title and duties, and how much of your time is spent on the work that is transferring.
• Your place of work and any mobility clause, especially if the new employer is elsewhere.
• Pay, hours and contractual benefits, including bonus and overtime rules.
• Pension arrangements with your old employer, and what the new employer offers.
• Terms that come from a collective agreement.
• Your continuous service start date.
• The measures letter sent to representatives about planned changes.
• Any new contract you are asked to sign after the transfer, and how it differs from your old terms.
• Restrictive covenants, which transfer with your contract (see restrictive covenants).

When to speak to a solicitor

TUPE is technical, and whether it applies at all can be disputed. It can help to speak to a solicitor if you are told TUPE does not apply when you think it should, your terms are being cut after a transfer, you are thinking about objecting, or you have been dismissed around the time of a transfer.

Common questions

Do I have a choice about transferring under TUPE?

You can object to transferring by telling your current or new employer. But under regulation 4 of TUPE, if you object your employment simply ends at the point of transfer, and you are not treated as dismissed. That usually means no redundancy pay and no unfair dismissal claim. There is an exception if the transfer involves a substantial change in working conditions to your material detriment.

Can my new employer change my terms after a TUPE transfer?

A change to your contract is void if the sole or principal reason for it is the transfer. It can be valid if the main reason is an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce, which can include a change of workplace. Terms that came from a collective agreement can be renegotiated more than one year after the transfer. Changes allowed by your contract anyway are not affected.

Does my pension transfer under TUPE?

Not in full. TUPE does not carry over the parts of an occupational pension scheme that provide old-age, invalidity or survivors' benefits. But if you were eligible for an occupational scheme with your old employer, the Pensions Act 2004 requires your new employer to provide some pension provision, either an occupational scheme or contributions to a stakeholder scheme, at levels set by regulations.

How much compensation is there if my employer did not consult about a TUPE transfer?

A tribunal can award up to 13 weeks' pay for each affected employee for a failure to inform and consult, depending on how serious the failure was. For a failure on or after 1 October 2026 the time limit for this claim is six months. A claim can be brought by representatives or, in some cases, by affected employees themselves.

Does TUPE apply when a company is bought through a share sale?

Usually not. Acas says TUPE is not likely to apply to a transfer of shares only, because your employer, the company, stays the same. It also does not usually apply to a transfer of equipment only, a contract wholly or mainly for the supply of goods, or a single event or short-term task.

Sources

1. GOV.UK: Business transfers, takeovers and TUPE checked Fri Oct 02
2. Acas: TUPE transfers checked Fri Oct 02
3. Acas: TUPE advice for employers and employees checked Fri Oct 02
4. TUPE Regulations 2006, regulation 3 (a relevant transfer) checked Fri Oct 02
5. TUPE Regulations 2006, regulation 4 (effect on contracts, variations, objection, material detriment) checked Fri Oct 02
6. TUPE Regulations 2006, regulation 7 (dismissal because of a transfer) checked Fri Oct 02
7. TUPE Regulations 2006, regulation 10 (pensions) checked Fri Oct 02
8. TUPE Regulations 2006, regulation 11 (employee liability information) checked Fri Oct 02
9. TUPE Regulations 2006, regulation 13 (duty to inform and consult) checked Fri Oct 02
10. TUPE Regulations 2006, regulation 13A (micro-business) checked Fri Oct 02
11. TUPE Regulations 2006, regulation 16 (compensation up to 13 weeks' pay) checked Fri Oct 02
12. Pensions Act 2004, section 258 checked Fri Oct 02
13. SI 2026/954: tribunal time limits extended to six months from 1 October 2026 (includes TUPE regulations 12 and 15) checked Fri Oct 02
14. Acas: Employment tribunal time limits (updated 1 October 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
15. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 108 (two-year qualifying period) checked Fri Oct 02
16. GOV.UK: Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act, timeline update (updated 25 September 2026) checked Fri Oct 02

This guide is general information about employment law in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland has its own employment law. It isn't legal advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account.