Collective agreements

Q. Do recognition and collective agreements transfer under TUPE?

A. Collective agreements transfer under regulation 6 of the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE), and have the same status as if they were made with the new employer (the "transferee").

This means that any terms or conditions negotiated under collective agreements are not legally enforceable unless they have been incorporated into individual employment contracts; all such incorporated terms (except those relating to pension rights) transfer under regulation 5.

Under regulation 9, recognition agreements transfer if the business that has transferred retains its identify (that is, carries on as before but under new ownership) after the transfer - but this has no effect on the enforceability or otherwise of terms negotiated under such agreements.