This case was a decision at the Liverpool Employment Tribunal in February 2009.

As clients will be aware, the TUPE Regulations act to protect employees rights during certain transfers of businesses or parts of businesses. TUPE also applies to outsourcing of work (and indeed other types of service provision change). If, therefore, an employer loses a major contract or outsources it (in the motor industry this is frequently seen with valeting) then employees who are mainly assigned to that part of the business are likely to transfer with the contract to the new employer - who then inherits them and all their employment rights and liabilities.

In this case Barnetts solicitors in Southport won a contract from the Britannia Building Society to do their conveyancing work. Britannia Building Society had previously used another firm Lees Lloyd Whitley, however this second firm lost the work of Britannia as a result of the tender process. The Tribunal found that some of Lees Lloyd Whitely’s employees (the ones assigned to the Britannia contract) should have transferred over to Barnetts solicitors under TUPE. This had not happened and therefore Barnetts solicitors found themselves stuck with unfair dismissal and failure to consult awards.

The case is a sobering reminder for employers seeking to cut costs by outsourcing work that they may be caught by the TUPE regulations. Likewise any employer who wins a contract should be wary that they may be inheriting more than they bargained for!