Construction union UCATT are warning that the Government's plans to reform the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), will strip workers of employment protection and will lead to increased job losses.

Currently when a contract is transferred between companies, the workers are protected by TUPE regulations. The workers involved move to the new company and their terms and conditions are protected.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is proposing in a consultation that closes today that in future if a service contract rather than a part or whole business is transferred, TUPE will not apply. The company winning the contract can simply decide not to employ the affected workers, which means the company which lost the work will have to pay their redundancy costs. Alternatively the company could decide to employ the workers on greatly reduced pay rates and poorer conditions.

-- Advertisement --

The issue is particularly important for UCATT, given the frequency that workers in local government housing maintenance departments have been transferred through tendering processes. Some UCATT members have been through four TUPE transfers.

Steve Murphy, General Secretary of UCATT, said: "These Government proposals are outrageous and show that the Government is in hock to fat cat employers. Workers face being made redundant and thrown on the dole through no fault of their own, simply so that wealthy bosses can boost their profits."

(CD/H)