In its Plan to Make Work Pay, the government committed to strengthening the existing rights and protections for workers set out in the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (“TUPE”).

As part of this commitment, the government has launched a call for evidence, inviting employers, employees and business representatives to share their experience of current TUPE processes. 

What is TUPE?

TUPE (The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006) provides protections for employees when they are moved between employers, for example when a business (or part of it) is transferred from one employer to another (a “business transfer”). TUPE also applies where an employer engages an external provider to perform services, and later engages a different provider to perform the same services in place of the first external provider, or brings the work ‘in-house’ (a “service provision change”). 

TUPE protects employees’ rights when a business transfer or service provision change (a “TUPE transfer”) takes place, with the affected employees automatically transferring to the new employer, with their period of continuous service and terms and conditions of employment unchanged. The new employer cannot change a transferring employee’s terms and conditions unless the change is for an economic, technical or organisational (“ETO”) reason unrelated to the TUPE transfer. 

TUPE acts as a codified structure for businesses setting out their responsibilities and obligations when a TUPE transfer takes place. 

Why has the call for evidence been launched and what is changing?

The government believes updating the TUPE regulations will support growth through facilitating smoother mergers and acquisitions. As part of this plan to support growth, the government wants to ensure that the TUPE regulations are efficient, effective, and easy to follow for both employers and employees.  

The call for evidence is not a consultation – with the government not seeking views on specific recommendations at this stage. Instead, respondees are asked to provide replies to 24 questions on the current TUPE regulations and their experience of the TUPE process, including:

• Whether the current TUPE regulations:
  • sufficiently protect employees’ rights (including pension rights) when a TUPE transfer takes place;
  • strike the right balance between protecting employees’ rights and supporting employer needs; and
  • ensure that employees are sufficiently informed and consulted when a TUPE transfer takes place.
• Whether it is clear if a business transfer or service provision change has taken place and the TUPE regulations apply, or whether the drafting of the regulations could be improved.
• The effectiveness of the TUPE process, and any issues commonly faced by employers and employees.
• Whether the current position that an employer may only change the contractual terms of a transferring employee for an ETO reason strikes the right balance between supporting employer needs and protecting employees' rights.
• Whether the cost of TUPE transfers is too high for businesses.
• Whether respondees have found that the TUPE regulations have resulted in any unintended consequences for individuals with a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 or different socioeconomic background.

 The call for evidence will close on 1 July 2026.

What does this mean for employers?

The call for evidence does not detail any immediate next steps or timeline for the implementation of changes. Responses to the call for evidence will inform the development of policy proposals which the government will consult on “in due course”.

However, the questions included in the call for evidence suggest that there may be meaningful reform of the current TUPE framework. In particular, seeking views on the scenarios in which an employer should be permitted to change a transferring employee’s contractual terms, suggests that the government may be re-visiting whether employers should be permitted to ‘harmonise’ the terms and conditions of transferring employees with their existing workforce.

This issue was previously addressed as part of a consultation exercise in 2013; although the government acknowledged employers’ frustrations that TUPE can create a two-tier workforce, it concluded that making it easier to harmonise terms post transfer would be incompatible with the Acquired Rights Directive and case law. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what, if any changes, are proposed in respect to harmonisation.   

For employers, this is also an opportunity. The call for evidence is a genuine invitation to shape policy, and those who regularly deal with TUPE transfers are well placed to provide responses on the practical issues which often arise in TUPE transfers. We would encourage clients with experience of the TUPE process to consider engaging with the call for evidence before it closes on 1 July 2026. 

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss how our team of experienced employment lawyers can support your organisation, please get in touch.