TUPE
TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. They protect employees’ existing terms and continuity of employment when the business or service they work in transfers to a new employer.
TUPE — definition
TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. When the business or service someone works in transfers to a new employer — a sale, or a service contract changing hands — TUPE moves their employment across on existing terms, with continuity preserved.
At a glance
Why TUPE matters
TUPE most often comes up in two situations: a business transfer, where a company or part of one is sold, and a service-provision change, where a contract — cleaning, catering, security, logistics — moves to a new provider or is brought back in-house. In both, employees assigned to what is transferring generally move to the new employer automatically, keeping their existing terms and their continuous service.
It places real obligations on both sides. The outgoing employer must provide employee-liability information about the transferring staff, and both employers must inform and, where relevant, consult affected employees through representatives. Dismissals connected to the transfer are, in most cases, automatically unfair.
Good records make these steps less painful. To hand over accurate employee-liability information and define exactly who is assigned to a service, you need a clear picture of who worked on it and on what hours. TUPE often sits near the Agency Worker Regulations in workforce planning; this page is a plain-English overview, not legal advice, so check the official Acas and GOV.UK guidance for your circumstances.
In practice
How TempClock relates
TempClock does not handle a TUPE transfer for you or give legal advice — but it keeps the workforce records that make one cleaner. Because hours, pay history and which site or contract each worker was on are all captured accurately, the information you need to define who is assigned and to compile employee-liability data is already in one place.
- See clearly who worked on a given contract or site, and on what hours.
- Hours and pay history are exportable for an employee-liability handover.
- Records are auditable, so figures can be evidenced if they are questioned.
When a contract changes hands, clean records of who worked where, and on what hours, make the employee-liability information far easier to assemble.
Related terms and pages
Terms that sit alongside this one, and the parts of TempClock that put them into practice.
Buddy punching
When one worker clocks in or out on behalf of another, inflating recorded hours.
Read the definition →Geofencing
A virtual boundary around a worksite used to confirm a clock-in happened on site.
Read the definition →Time and attendance
The practice of recording when staff start, break and finish, ready for payroll.
Read the definition →Agency Worker Regulations
UK rules giving agency temps equal basic conditions after 12 weeks in the same role.
Read the definition →Agency Worker Regulations
The related UK rules on equal treatment for agency temps.
Read the definition →Security & GDPR
How worker records are stored, exported and audited.
Read the detail →Know who turned up — and pay every hour right.
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