The transfer date

Ascertaining the transfer date is crucial. It is the moment the employer’s identity changes and the employment contracts of employees in the organised grouping transfer automatically to the new employer (unless they have objected to the transfer before the transfer date — see below). It is also key to determining whether consultation duties have been met, because statutory consultation must take place before the transfer (see page 466).

The transfer date is the date on which responsibility for the business transfers from one employer to another. What matters are the facts — what actually happened — not what the parties hoped or intended would happen (Housing Maintenance Solutions Limited v McAteer [2014] UKEAT/0440/13/LA).