Company Takeover: Contract changed from Permanent to Fixed Term

A

apd

Registered User
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Hi,

The company i work for is being taken over, and the new owners are transitioning all employees from a permanent to fixed term contracts. Is this legal?

Thanks
 
Re: Company Takeover

See the key post at the top of the forum and look at the TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employees) regulations.

Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employees
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TUPE KeyPost

[FONT=Verdana,arial,geneva,san-serif]This area of legislation is the responsibility of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment DETE. You'll find more information here: http://www.entemp.ie/erir/tour.htm [/FONT]

from Comhairle
Complaints
 An employee (or his/her trade union) may take a complaint to a Rights Commissioner that an employer has contravened his obligations to the employee under the Regulations. This must be done within 6 months of the contravention alleged (or within a further 6 months where the Rights Commissioner is satisfied that exceptional circumstances prevented the complaint being presented within the first 6 months). The relevant complaint form is available from Employment Rights Information Unit or the Office of the Rights Commissioner, or is downloadable from either www.entemp.ie or www.lrc.ie. Appeals lie from a decision of the Rights Commissioner to the Employment Appeals Tribunal (a 6 week time limit applies). Decisions of a Rights Commissioner and determinations, unless appealed, of the Tribunal are enforceable (by employee, trade union or Minister) in the Circuit Court.
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Are you a member of a Trade Union?

Is the new owner engaging with employees and negotiating the new T&C's or is it simply presenting employees with a "take it or leave it" option?

aj
 
Re: Company Takeover

The proposal put to us is that all of our terms and conditions will be continued in a New Company Headed contract. However the contract will be fixed term.

We suspect this is to comply with the law, but then instead of redundancy, the new company will just let the contracts expire in a few months.
 
Re: Company Takeover

Have the old and new companies consulted with the employees about the take over? If not they may be in breach of the TUPE leglisation.

Are the old and new companies based in the Republic of Ireland?

aj
 
Re: Company Takeover

It is one american based company taking over another. we are just an irish office.

yes they have begun consultations with the employees. and appear to be trying to comply with Transfer of undertakings law. but they say that by transfering us to fixed term contracts is not in breach of these regulations. We think it is making us into contractors as opposed to permanent employees
 
but they say that by transfering us to fixed term contracts is not in breach of these regulations.
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I woulnt give them the benefit of the doubt on this. Ring DETE, explain the situation and they will tell you whether the proposal complies with the TUPE regulations or not.

On the face of it, it appears to me that the company cant (without negotiation) change the T&C's of employees.

aj
 
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