employment contract

[awg454]

I wonder if anyone can help or offer advise please,the business my daughter works for was taken over last week,all employees were called into the office Thursday and asked to sign new contracts which they all did (all of them are quite young girls)they felt under pressure to do so,the main part of the contract I am concerned about is they have cut the normal hours from 40 per week to 20 per week,but have told them verbally nothing will change,and they will continue to work the same hours as before,but it doesn't seem quite right to me.

Thanks

[Lady Muck]

If I read this correctly your daughters company has been bought out by another? If so then they should be protected by TUPE. By this I meant that when a company has been bought, employees are transferred to the new company under the same terms and conditions as they currently receive. So to reduce the hours seems like a breach of contract.

TUPE is not my specialty so I may have worded that badly.

In any case these girls should not have signed these new contracts without a consultation process.

I am not going to say any more. Your daughter should really call ACAS for advice. It is difficult without all the facts for certainty and I feel this should be addressed urgently if they are seeking to halve her hours (in the future) as she has now signed a contract that allows them to do so (Possibly unlawfully).

[awg454]

Lady Muck said:

If I read this correctly your daughters company has been bought out by another? If so then they should be protected by TUPE. By this I meant that when a company has been bought, employees are transferred to the new company under the same terms and conditions as they currently receive. So to reduce the hours seems like a breach of contract.

TUPE is not my specialty so I may have worded that badly.

In any case these girls should not have signed these new contracts without a consultation process.

I am not going to say any more. Your daughter should really call ACAS for advice. It is difficult without all the facts for certainty and I feel this should be addressed urgently if they are seeking to halve her hours (in the future) as she has now signed a contract that allows them to do so (Possibly unlawfully).

Thanks for the reply you have read it correctly,I will pass your advice on to her thanks again

[Lady Muck]

You are welcome. I hope it works out favorably for her.

I despise the bullying tactics of some companies on employees who are not fully informed of their rights.

[anonymous-user]

Has the identity of the employer changed, or is this just a case of a limited company changing hands between one lot of shareholders and another? TUPE applies in the former scenario, but not in the latter. Even if TUPE is not in play, there may be questions as to whether new contracts are enforceable without some consideration.