Contractual variation because of a TUPE transfer is void even if beneficial to employee

Senior employees seeking to ‘feather their nest’ before a TUPE transfer should take note of Ferguson and Ors v Astrea Asset Management Ltd.

Senior employees seeking to ‘feather their nest’ before a TUPE transfer should take note of Ferguson and Ors v Astrea Asset Management Ltd. Shortly before a TUPE transfer, the Claimants arranged for their employment contracts to be substantially improved to provide for guaranteed bonus payments and generous new termination payments. An ET found the changes were made by reason of transfer and had no legitimate commercial purpose for the transferor but were designed to compensate the Claimants for loss of transferor’s business, thereby dishonestly taking advantage of TUPE 2006 by awarding themselves remuneration to be paid by transferee. The EAT agreed. Reg 4(4) of TUPE 2006 renders void all contractual variations made because of a transfer and not just those adverse to the employee. Here the purpose was not to safeguard employee rights, but for the Claimants to obtain an improper advantage by artificially obtaining variations to their contracts of employment with the transferor in contemplation of the transfer happening.

 

Read more

Latest News

Read More

What does “a different kind of leader” really mean?

30 June 2025

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

You will lead HR Business Partnering, OD, and Learning & Development, and also oversee HR related managed services. You may already be an HR Director

HR Project Manager Job Title: HRProject Manager Location:North London Sector: Education ContractType: Permanent About the Role We havepartnered with an Educational establishment who are looking

University of Greenwich – Deputy Director of PeopleSalary: Competitive This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate

HR Analytics and Reporting: Utilise HR metrics and analytics to inform decision-making and report on HR performance. Purpose of the Role The Human Resources Director

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE