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TUPE situations are an intense period with much to do ahead of the transfer date. We can support your business at this busy time in the handling of the people aspects of the transition.
The following two offers can either be provided as separate services or can be offered together as a package.
Support on Due Diligence
In the rush to transfer a business entity to a new provider there is much to do in a short time frame. In addition to the commercial and operational mobilisation aspects of the transfer, HR Due Diligence information needs to be collected on the staff who are to transfer. Terms and conditions need to be established to discharge legal duties to protect contractual terms and identify exposures in terms of ongoing disputes.
Sometimes this process is straightforward if the transferor is obliging and diligent, however there are occasions where the information is not passed through from the transferor in a timely way or is incomplete. This then becomes a resource intensive task to gather all you need to know ahead of time.
We have worked on a number of transfers for clients who have engaged us to obtain the HR Due Diligence information. This has involved building relationships with the transferor, chasing and checking information, challenging incomplete or concerning disclosures and ensuring completeness of HR data for the transfer date. We usually also meet with the individual staff to check their details although this can be done via other mechanisms. We ensure that the transferee has a complete pack of information presented in a clear and easy to understand way. This charts, by individual, accurate and relevant information on their specific terms and conditions together with any arising issues.
In such a busy period our clients have found our support invaluable, knowing that we will ask the right questions, be persistent in getting answers and do a thorough job.
Managing change in the transition
Of course the acquiring of Due Diligence information is vital, but the way staff are handled in this pre-transfer phase can be hugely influential to the success of the transition and beyond. We have worked with our clients to handle the relationship management, engagement and communication aspects with transferring staff who often feel vulnerable, angry or concerned that a decision has been made to transfer them to a new employer.
We typically provide the site support and telephone contact to staff during the transition phase but we can be guided by your requirements.
We can provide the following:
- Individual and collective meetings with staff to inform and reassure.
- Presence on site to answer questions or concerns.
- Telephone support on HR issues.
- Design and implementation of a communication strategy to keep staff informed during the transition.
- Help with any difficult or contentious HR issues.
- Guidance to ensure legal duties of TUPE are discharged.
- Help you to make decisions on replication of terms.
- Negotiations of agreements where terms can not be replicated.
- Handling of resistance.
- Alignment of staff to change.
Often the existing HR teams are stretched during a transition and do not have the resources and time to fully seize the opportunities to use the transition to change mindsets and develop positive relationships with staff.
We can support you to make this a time of transformation – where staff adapt to the new culture, new processes and systems of their new employer and start to look forward to the transfer date with a new enthusiasm.
We also offer training courses on TUPE. Please see our section on Development.
