Supporting businesses in their TUPE responsibilities as they merge with or acquire another business

  • Merging with another business, or acquiring an existing company, means that you may also be legally required to take on responsibility for their existing employees and there are strict UK regulations about this.
  • TUPE (The Transfer of Undertakings (Projection of Employment) Regulations 2006) is the area of employment law that regulates how existing employment contracts and established terms of employment are protected when a business changes ownership.
  • A business that fails to correctly manage TUPE during a merger or acquisition leaves themselves open to a variety of costly and damaging claims by employees. 

What is are mergers and acquisitions?

Mergers and acquisitions is the process of combining two or more companies into a single entity or acquiring control of one company by another.

Protecting your business with effective TUPE planning

When it comes to business mergers and acquisitions (which result in a change of business ownership), the issues around employees and their rights and contracts are often secondary to the financial implications of the changes, but it’s vital that they are prioritised in order for companies to be legally compliant before, during and after the transfer completes. 

A key part of a successful business merger or acquisition is ensuring that the transfer of employees is carried out well. Not only are there TUPE responsibilities that it is your legal duty to adhere to, but a well-planned transfer that goes smoothly also sends a much more positive message to your new employees and can make a significant impact on the success of the merger or acquisition overall. 

How Moore Barlow can help

Our specialist team of employment solicitors can work closely with your business to ensure that the entire process of transferring affected employees  is carried out in compliance with the TUPE regulations and is well communicated so that it goes as smoothly as possible.

We are based across our offices in London, Lymington, Southampton, Guildford, Woking and Richmond and we offer essential legal assistance to clients nationwide.