Dismissal wholly or mainly because of the transfer
[ch 7: page 73]In England, Wales and Scotland, dismissals will be automatically unfair if the “sole or principal reason” for dismissal is “the transfer” and there is no “economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce justifying the dismissal (Regulation 7(1), TUPE as amended).
This is a change from the position before 31 January 2014, when a dismissal would have been automatically unfair if the reason for the dismissal was either (a) the transfer itself (unless there was a valid ETO reason); or (b) a reason connected with the transfer that was not a valid ETO reason.
In Northern Ireland, the law has not changed, and the wider, two-part definition is still in place (see box on page 11).
The purpose of this change to the law was to make it easier to dismiss employees in the run up to a transfer.