When an employer sells all or part of the business to another business, this can lead to a great deal of confusion as to an employee’s rights on the transfer of employment.

There is employment legislation available which provides the transferring employee with basic rights and protections. The transferring employee’s terms and conditions are protected on the transfer from one business to another. Also, the business taking over the new employee (“the transferee”) cannot impose detrimental or less favourable terms and conditions or working practices on the transferring employee unless they are able to argue that the change is for what is known as an ETO entailing changes in the workforce. This is similar to a redundancy or restructure which results in a reduction in staff numbers. If there is no ETO entailing changes to the workforce and the new employer is simply attempting to, for example, harmonise all employees' terms and conditions for ease, this can lead to a claim for Constructive Dismissal, Unfair Dismissal and/or a claim for Unlawful Deduction of Wages.

If you are a transferring employee, we would recommend you complete the free advice form to better understand your employment law rights and protection.