TUPE - a union rep’s guide to using the law (November 2017)

Chapter 2

Activities consisting wholly or mainly of the supply of goods

[ch 2: page 24]

There will be no SPC if what transfers is a contract wholly or mainly to supply goods for the client’s use, not services. The boundaries of this exemption were tested in the next case:

Assembly line workers making components for a vehicle manufacturer argued that their employment transferred when that manufacturer changed supplier. They argued that they were supplying services not goods, and that “services” included, for example, checking that goods were safe to use and sourcing parts. The EAT disagreed, ruling that the services identified were only part of the employees’ overall responsibility which was to supply goods. As a result, their employment did not transfer.

Pannu v Geo W King Limited (in liquidation) [2011] UKEAT/0021/11/2112

www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2011/0021_11_2112.html


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