Overlap with ICE regulations
[ch 5: page 48]Some workplaces will have established standing employee consultation bodies under the Information and Consultation Regulations 2004 (ICE). Here, there is potential for regulatory overlap with TUPE consultation.
It is worth noting that an employer’s information and consultation obligations under the ICE regulations (Regulation 20, ICE) are significantly wider than its obligations under the TUPE regime. In particular, the duty to inform and consult under TUPE is only triggered once a date has been set for a planned transfer. By contrast, the ICE regulations call for broader information and consultation, on the economic situation of the business, structural changes, job prospects and decisions “likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation or in contractual relations”.
The ICE regime offers unions another mechanism for effective collective voice at work in workplaces where the union is not recognised (for example, if a transferee refuses to honour a recognition agreement post transfer).
For more information, see LRD’s booklet Using information and consultation rights — a union rep’s guide, 2016 (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=BK&iss=1847).