New owner, changing work conditions

Kuva

Hi,

If your place of work of say 20 employees gets a new owner, who then say, makes breaks unpaid and removes other little benefits, would the employees have any footing to resist these changes?

hullaballoo

They would. And their solicitor would be best-placed to advise them on how to do so.

lifeandtimes

Tupe would be assumed if nothing else was agreed betweem all employees prior to the new owner taking over.

Contact a solcitior as a group and take it from there

rock22

lifeandtimes wrote: »

Tupe would be assumed if nothing else was agreed betweem all employees prior to the new owner taking over.

Contact a solcitior as a group and take it from there

or get your trade union involved

lifeandtimes

rock22 wrote: »

or get your trade union involved

Doubt there's a union with only 20 employees but op would be better fixed to tell us

my3cents

The old employer I believe can give all the staff a P45 because they aren't employing them anymore then the new employer can rehire on their new terms.

Sleeper12

New owner doesn't need to keep any of the old staff afaik.

myshirt

Sleeper12 wrote: »

New owner doesn't need to keep any of the old staff afaik.

If the legal advice is smart, maybe.

Read up on transfer of undertakings legislation.

Peregrinus

my3cents wrote: »

The old employer I believe can give all the staff a P45 because they aren't employing them anymore then the new employer can rehire on their new terms.

Sleeper12 wrote: »

New owner doesn't need to keep any of the old staff afaik.

This is precisely the kind of thing that the European Communitities (Protection of Employees' Rights on Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations 2003 seek to prohibit. (There's a bit of a clue in the name.)

OP, do not be relying on what you read on Boards. Get together with your colleagues; go and and talk to a trade union or to a solicitor or both to find out what your options are. But you definitely have options.

Dial Hard

rock22 wrote:

or get your trade union involved

Why is it the default assumption in this forum that there's always a union in place? I've been working full time for 18 years and have never worked in a company with a union presence.

Not having a pop, just genuinely curious. Surely I can't be that much of an outlier?

Peregrinus

Dial Hard wrote: »

Why is it the default assumption in this forum that there's always a union in place? I've been working full time for 18 years and have never worked in a company with a union presence.

Not having a pop, just genuinely curious. Surely I can't be that much of an outlier?

Depending on who you believe, "union density" in Ireland is between 30% and 35% of the workforce. So, no, you're not at all unusual.

But union density does vary widely depending on sector, industry, enterprise size, etc. You could very easily have a working career in which you are always in unionised enterprises, and come to think of that as the norm.

CIARAN_BOYLE

my3cents wrote: »

The old employer I believe can give all the staff a P45 because they aren't employing them anymore then the new employer can rehire on their new terms.

Employees would be entitled to redundancy from old employer if that was done.

Op you are entitled to protection under tupe legislation.

GM228

TUPE is probably the single most complicated area of employment law and it does not always apply, for example it may not apply if there is no transfer of tangible assets and non tangible assets which employees use in their employment then TUPE will not apply.

Best to speak to a solicitor (as opposes to a union (if any)) who specialises in employment law, as someone with first hand experience in the matter I can tell you as this can be complicated even a union can ill advise in this area.

_Brian

Dial Hard wrote: »

Why is it the default assumption in this forum that there's always a union in place? I've been working full time for 18 years and have never worked in a company with a union presence.

Not having a pop, just genuinely curious. Surely I can't be that much of an outlier?

Same, have been working for similar length of time, have been unionised for just five, and the one and only time they were needed we were thrown under the bus and too insignificant due to numbers, yet they take union subs!

rock22

_Brian wrote: »

Same, have been working for similar length of time, have been unionised for just five, and the one and only time they were needed we were thrown under the bus and too insignificant due to numbers, yet they take union subs!

Care to elaborate?

I personally have never come across a union throwing members under the bus and I have never heard of any such complaint

Kuva

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Employees would be entitled to redundancy from old employer if that was done.

Op you are entitled to protection under tupe legislation.

OP here, theirs no union and the latest is the old employer is actually letting everyone go with P45 to be given to new owners directly.

No mention of redundancy.

Kuva

GM228 wrote: »

TUPE is probably the single most complicated area of employment law and it does not always apply, for example it may not apply if there is no transfer of tangible assets and non tangible assets which employees use in their employment then TUPE will not apply.

Best to speak to a solicitor (as opposes to a union (if any)) who specialises in employment law, as someone with first hand experience in the matter I can tell you as this can be complicated even a union can ill advise in this area.

Non tangible assets?

A Google of that, if it must apply it's like a big stick to beat the little man with.

What is general cost of a solicitor for something like this?

Can terms and conditions be carried over when you are being rehired by new owner?

Graham

Read this then give them a call:

http://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/What_You_Should_Know/Transfer_of_Undertakings/

http://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Contact_Us/Contact_Details/