The government has published the draft Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2013. The draft regulations reflect the government's response to the consultation on proposed changes to TUPE, which was published in September 2013. In particular, the amendments will allow transferees to collectively consult with transferring employees before the transfer if the transferor agrees. They also provide that post-transfer changes to location can amount to an ETO reason so that redundancies due to a simple change of location will not be automatically unfair.
The draft regulations will be laid before Parliament in December and are expected to come into force in January 2014. The majority of the amendments will apply to transfers which take place on or after that date. However, transitional provisions will apply in relation to the change in the time limit for providing employee liability information and the relaxation of the information and consultation obligations for micro businesses.
Given the government's surprise decision not to proceed with its initial plan to remove the rules on service provision changes, the amendments to TUPE are far less significant than had previously been expected. It would seem that the introduction of pre-transfer collective consultation will have the most important practical impact.
If you would like more information, please contact Mandy L Quinn, Partner and Head of the Corporate Team at Dallas McMillan on 0141 333 6750.
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