TUPE and collective agreements

Collective agreements by a recognised trade union transfer automatically to the new employer under Regulation 5, TUPE. They are treated as if originally made with the new employer.

Unlike the position in the rest of Europe, collective agreements in the UK are not generally legally binding between the parties — union and employer (section 179, TULRCA). Instead, they are binding “in honour” and enforced voluntarily by good employment relations and the implicit threat of industrial action. Only collective terms that have been incorporated into an individual employment contract are legally binding. These terms are legally enforceable against the employer by the individual employee, not the union.