Transfers of Undertakings - Principle and Pragmatism in the CJEU

Article by Dechert partner Charles Wynn-Evans.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/246) (TUPE) are the current incarnation of the domestic legislation implementing Council Directive 2001/23/EC - the so called Acquired Rights Directive (ARD). The primary purpose of he ARD is "to provide for the protection of employees in the event of a change of employer, in particular, to ensure that their rights are safeguarded" (Recital 3). In the domestic context, TUPE also addresses the common law position that, as a consequence of a transfer of the business in which he or she works, an affected employee is left with no entitlement to continued employment in the business in which he or she was employed prior to the transfer in questions, has no right to be employed on his or her previous contractual terms, and has entitlement to any information about, or consultation in relation to, the transfer and its consequences.

Read more