Q: Recently my managers have had interest from two separate parties buying the pub I work in. What will this mean for existing staff in terms of job security?
Feb 01 2009
Answered by: Peter Done Ask a question
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as job security any more in any industry, but in these circumstances you will have protection against unreasonable treatment.
The Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) Regulations 2006 will probably apply here so, in practical terms, what this means is that the new owners cannot simply change your terms and conditions without your agreement and they cannot dismiss you because those terms are inconvenient. However, while employees cannot simply be dismissed and replaced with new people because the new owner doesn’t like their existing terms they can be dismissed if it is for an economic, technological or organisational reason connected with the workforce.
If the new owners re-organise in such a way that they need fewer people or that they do not need staff to carry out the same range of functions then employees may be dismissed. The new owners will be expected to provide clear evidence of the reasons for dismissal in order to demonstrate that any dismissals were not for reasons related to TUPE.
You need to talk to the current owners to find out what the potential new owners are planning on doing and consult about the situation so that you know where you stand.
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