If you are buying or selling a business, or you outsource, then the employees involved gain enhanced protection. This includes rights in relation to dismissal, changes to terms and conditions of employment, and consulting with employees before their employment transfers.
This is a technical area of Employment Law. Dealing with employment issues often forms a significant part of a sale and purchase. Warranties will need to be negotiated, then given. Information concerning the transferring employees will need to be provided to the transferee business. The transferee business is also obliged to provide information to the transferor. At some stage, the employees will need to be told.
If handled incorrectly, then the risks are high for both transferor and transferee. There are penalties for both parties for supplying incorrect or insufficient information. Employees might also bring claims for constructive unfair dismissal, or for failure to inform and consult. This is an especially tricky issue, as there are often commercial reasons to keep any proposed deal confidential as long as possible.
The Employment Law team is highly experienced at advising on employee transfers.
As part of the Business Services Team, we work with our colleagues who are involved in the property and commercial parts of the transaction. We provide practical and commercially sound advice on the tactics that should be used at each stage. We will also provide our advice in plain English.
Based in Colchester and Clacton on Sea, location is increasingly less relevant through the ever growing use of technology, and the TSP Employment Law team work with business clients who are local, regional, national and international.
