Objecting to the transfer

The law allows employees to object to a transfer before it takes place even if they have no good reason. This is because the law says that nobody can be forced to work for someone else. However, simply objecting to a transfer is rarely sensible because of the negative consequences of this step. Specifically, where an employee objects:

• the employment contract will terminate automatically but the employee will not be treated as having been dismissed;

• there will be no right to claim either unfair dismissal rights or a redundancy payment (regulation 4(7) and 4(8) of TUPE).

After the objection, “the transferor may re-engage the employee on whatever terms they agree” (BIS TUPE guidance, 2014).