Only employees transfer

As always, only employees transfer. TUPE defines “employees” as follows: “Any individual who works for another person, whether under a contract of service or apprenticeship or otherwise, but does not include anyone who provides services under a contract for services.” Agency workers, freelancers and the genuinely self-employed are all excluded.

Regulation 4 of TUPE says that the only employees who transfer to the new employer on the transfer date are those who are:

• employed immediately before the transfer (see below if you are dismissed immediately before the transfer); and

• assigned to the organised grouping of employees or resources.

Only employees who object to the transfer before the transfer date do not transfer. There are significant negative implications for employees who object to a transfer.