Beyond Borders: How TUPE Differs Between Great Britain And Northern Ireland

Over recent years, the laws governing TUPE have diverged between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This is due to Northern Irish employment law largely remaining static, while there have been some minor, but occasionally important, amendments to TUPE in Great Britain. With changes on the horizon, further divergence between the jurisdictions is likely. Employers who are involved in TUPE transfers should be mindful of the important differences between the jurisdictions.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) protects employees when the business or organisation they work for transfers to a new owner and when a service transfers to a new provider. TUPE applies in Northern Ireland (NI) but with two important differences. First, the service provision change aspects are governed by separate local legislation. Second, the changes that were made to TUPE in 2014 in Great Britain (GB) do not apply in NI. The TUPE position in