Definition:
TUPE is a U.K. law (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment). The law addresses the process that must be followed when a firm hires a vendor to take over work performed by a group of people working for a client. TUPE provides rules about how these workers can be replaced, rehired, or terminated.
Under TUPE, a new vendor must transfer over all existing staff, or pay a financial penalty for staff not transferred.
The law also provides provisions for appeals to the government for wrongful dismissal.
Once staff has been transferred to a vendor, the new vendor must follow the same TUPE process, if and when they are replaced by another vendor. In this way, TUPE sees the working as having a direct right to a POSITION, rather than being linked to the EMPLOYER... and these rights pass through from vendor to vendor.
It should be noted that TUPE applies only to jobs that are transferred, not to positions and groups that have been terminated. Furthermore, TUPE was created primarily for a transfer of work from one in-house provider to another. It is less clear it if applies to a transition between models. For example, you may have an IT group for email, but want to switch to a third-party cloud solution. Here, this isn't a transition between vendors, it is a transition to a different model of operating, without comparable position in comparable locations. The same may apply when moving from in-house support to remotely located support centers.
As more models of work are developed (Cloud Services, offshore, etc.) TUPE will undoubtedly be updated (as it was in 2006) to remain relevant to workers in the UK.
TUPE is a U.K. law (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment). The law addresses the process that must be followed when a firm hires a vendor to take over work performed by a group of people working for a client. TUPE provides rules about how these workers can be replaced, rehired, or terminated.
Under TUPE, a new vendor must transfer over all existing staff, or pay a financial penalty for staff not transferred.
The law also provides provisions for appeals to the government for wrongful dismissal.
Once staff has been transferred to a vendor, the new vendor must follow the same TUPE process, if and when they are replaced by another vendor. In this way, TUPE sees the working as having a direct right to a POSITION, rather than being linked to the EMPLOYER... and these rights pass through from vendor to vendor.
It should be noted that TUPE applies only to jobs that are transferred, not to positions and groups that have been terminated. Furthermore, TUPE was created primarily for a transfer of work from one in-house provider to another. It is less clear it if applies to a transition between models. For example, you may have an IT group for email, but want to switch to a third-party cloud solution. Here, this isn't a transition between vendors, it is a transition to a different model of operating, without comparable position in comparable locations. The same may apply when moving from in-house support to remotely located support centers.
As more models of work are developed (Cloud Services, offshore, etc.) TUPE will undoubtedly be updated (as it was in 2006) to remain relevant to workers in the UK.
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