TUPE and sickness absence

Being transferred from one employer to another could be worrying for sick employees who may be off work at the time of the transfer. In this situation, the TUPE regulations are likely to apply (the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 as amended by the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2014).

In general, someone who is temporarily absent from work immediately before the transfer because of sickness absence will transfer on the transfer date if there is an expectation that they will rejoin the organised grouping of employees on their return to work (Fairhurst Ward Abbotts Limited v Botes Building Limited [2004] EWCA Civ 83).