tupe laws

[kevburner]

hi all ,
I work for a utlity company that has lost its main contract with a major electric provider, they have told us that from 1st of jan 2013 we will be working for them under tupe law directly, been told today that they will be paying us monthley, for the last 20 years ive been weekly paid this is not a major concern for me but it is for some others, in our currant contract it states we are weekly paid.can they do this?

thxs kev

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

The TUPE laws are very complex. Personally I'd say if they've got a job at the same rates & holidays etc then the frequency of how it arrives is pretty much immaterial.

Keep their heads down & get on with it

[PugwasHDJ80]

they can change the frequency but they need to give reasonable notice- would suggest that 6 weeks would be considered reasonable.

They should be making an offer of hardship loans or other plans to help with the change. They aren't legally required to do this, but it would help their case if they were taken to court by an employee claiming constructive dismisal

[kevburner]

oh right, so can they change what ever they want as long as they give us notice, like hours of work, money , putting us on a shift pattern?

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

kevburner said:

oh right, so can they change what ever they want as long as they give us notice, like hours of work, money , putting us on a shift pattern?

Employer can always do what they want. It's just how much they want it to cost!

[ribenavrs]

not initially, your terms and conditions should not change under TUPE but after a period of time they can enter a consultation process and change most things as can happen with any employer/employee??

[PugwasHDJ80]

kevburner said:

oh right, so can they change what ever they want as long as they give us notice, like hours of work, money , putting us on a shift pattern?

Yep all of that except money.

However you have rights too.

[anonymous-user]

There is much misunderstanding of TUPE amongst non lawyers. All terms and conditions are preserved after a transfer of undertaking. If the contract stipulates weekly pay, then the new employer will be in breach of contract by paying monthly. Contractual hours of work cannot lawfully be altered post transfer without agreement. There is no time limit on the preservation of terms. A variation to a contract requires consideration. Employers have to be careful post transfer, as a dismissal connected to the transfer is automatically unfair unless for an economic, technical or organisation reason entailing a change in the workforce.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 23 November 23:19

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Breadvan72 said:

There is much misunderstanding of TUPE amongst non lawyers. All terms and conditions are preserved after a transfer of undertaking. If the contract stipulates weekly pay, then the new employer will be in breach of contract by paying monthly. Contractual hours of work cannot lawfully be altered post transfer without agreement. There is no time limit on the preservation of terms. A variation to a contract requires consideration. Employers have to be careful post transfer, as a dismissal connected to the transfer is automatically unfair unless for an economic, technical or organisation reason entailing a change in the workforce.

Edited by Breadvan72 on Friday 23 November 23:19

There's also often a misunderstanding of real life by non non lawyers.

[anonymous-user]

Strange as it may seem, I have done dozens of real life TUPE cases. The rules can be broken, but there may be consequences.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Breadvan72 said:

Strange as it may seem, I have done dozens of real life TUPE cases. The rules can be broken, but there may be consequences.

I know, was just spoofing you.

[kevburner]

seems like a minefeild ! looks like its gonna be a bumpy ride

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

kevburner said:

seems like a minefeild ! looks like its gonna be a bumpy ride

Try & avoid worrying about the details. What's gone before has gone. At least TUPE has decided you do have a job going forward.

[PugwasHDJ80]

The question really is - could my previous employer have changed this?

If they could have made this change then your new employer can make that change.

[kevburner]

I have worked on the same contract for 16 years , first 8 years were good was well looked after and thought of and enjoyed working for them (McNicholas), they lost the contract to another utility company that seemed to only get it because they were so much cheaper, we were all tuped over to them, for the next 7 years was a cmplete mess felt like we went back to the 1970s health and saftey went out the window and came back when it suited them, treated there work force like something on the bottom of there shoe, was a nightmare from day one.
2 months ago we find out that they have lost contract and part of the contract will be working direct for electric company which should be alot better for us as they get much better benefits, but for us to fit into there health and safty rules means that our t and cs would have to be drasticly changed or we would be breaking them straight away

just thought i'd give some background info