Buying or selling a Practice – TUPE obligations

If you are in the process of buying or selling your dental practice, then it is likely that you will have legal obligations under TUPE.

The CODE Total HR team have come across many situations where practice owners were not aware of this complex area of law and have found themselves falling foul of a tribunal claim.

At the early stages of the buying and selling process it is key that both parties seek expert advice. Often mistakes are made where the buyer and seller have not met legal obligations such as providing employee information (ELI) or holding consultations.

Surprisingly it is common for the employees to only discover the change of employer on the day they arrive in the practice. Not only does this breach the TUPE regulations and expose you to a risk of a claim but also affects the engagement of your new team.

Common mistakes made by employers both during and after the transfer process:

• Assuming that TUPE applies to a self-employed associate
• Failure to consult
• Failure to issue a contract of employment under the new employer name
• Implementing changes to employee terms and conditions without agreement
• A belief that TUPE only protects employees’ terms for a limited time period (it is indefinite)
• Making redundancies where TUPE did apply

To mitigate the risk of making similar costly mistakes, it is essential that practice owners seek support to help understand their legal obligations under TUPE.

CODE Total HR will provide a range of support for practice owners facing TUPE so you can focus on your business and minimise the risk of an employment tribunal. CODE Total HR. We will look after your HR as well as you take care of your patients.

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