TUPE, Explained for FM Professionals

""We changed the scope, so TUPE doesn't apply.""

TUPE myths don't come from nowhere — they come from mobilisation debriefs, corridor conversations, and assumptions that have never been tested against the actual regulations. This guide tackles five of the most dangerous ones head-on.

"One email to all staff. That's not consultation."

TUPE consultation is a structured, documented, two-way legal process — and the penalties for getting it wrong are substantial. Up to 13 weeks' pay per affected employee. Joint and several liability between outgoing and incoming providers. This guide sets out exactly what defensible consultation looks like.

"You've won the contract. The workforce transfers automatically. But do you actually know what you're inheriting?"

Employee Liability Information is the legal mechanism that tells you what you're inheriting. Without ELI, you're onboarding a workforce you can't see clearly. Late or incomplete ELI gives grounds for a tribunal claim — minimum £500 per affected employee.

"A commercial office TUPE and an NHS hospital TUPE are not the same exercise."

If you treat a healthcare FM mobilisation like any other contract, you will get it wrong. Agenda for Change pay scales, NHS pension obligations under Fair Deal (~23% employer contribution), and COSOP all raise the bar significantly above standard TUPE.

"You won the contract. Now comes the hard part."

The outgoing provider knows the workforce. The client knows the contract history. You know neither — and yet under TUPE, you inherit both from Day 1. Poor due diligence isn't just a compliance failure. It's a commercial one.