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TUPE creates a 'legal
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minefield' for employers
• The law protecting drivers' terms and conditions when transferring from one company to another is creating a legal minefield for employers, says a national law expert.
John McMullen says that under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations (TUPE), any compensation deal which changes terms and conditions is not legally binding.
As a result, the risk of employees initially accepting contractual changes but then changing their minds could prove very costly. "You would be looking at back-pay to bring you into line with the old terms and conditions."
McMullen is head of employment law at law firm Pinsents, which is publishing research showing that three-quarters of employers are unclear when TUPE applies. This confusion is highlighted in the row between Quartermans Transport and Worcester haulier David Curnock, which has left drivers jobless (CM19-25 June).
Interpretation of TUPE is also causing problems for Exel Tradeteam as it rationalises former Interbrew in-house distribution depots taken over last year ( CM29 May-4 June).