"Following the review of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations 2006 by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills it was feared that a seismic change would be made to the TUPE regulations under the banner of cutting red tape and reducing gold plating of legislation perceived to exceed the minimal requirements of the Acquired Rights Directive. Key headlines in the review were the suggested repeal of the service provision change rules and the abolition of the duty on a transferring employer to provide to the transferee employer a statutory list of employee liability information. The 2014 regulations however reflect a compromise. The thrust of most responses to the Government consultation was to leave well alone and, as a result, the service provision change rules have been retained and the duty to provide employee liability information fortified rather than repealed. But this is a ‘curate's egg' of a set of regulations. Some elements are followed through by clear thinking. Others reflect a purported compromise between business interests and employee rights that on occasion, we suggest, breaches European Union law."

Support: Paper