TUPE when you win or lose a cleaning or FM contract

Last reviewed 19 October 2026. General guidance, not legal advice.

When a cleaning, security, grounds or facilities management contract moves from one contractor to another, the staff who do the work usually move with it. That is TUPE, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. For labour-heavy contracts, TUPE can decide whether a contract makes money, so you need to understand it before you price a bid and before you lose one. This guide covers the rules in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own regulations, noted at the end.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. TUPE cases turn on their facts, so take advice from an employment lawyer or contact Acas if you are unsure whether it applies.

Key points

• TUPE usually applies when a service contract is outsourced, re-tendered to a new contractor or brought back in-house. This is called a service provision change.
• Employees who are part of an organised group working mainly on the contract transfer to the new contractor on their existing terms, with their service unbroken.
• The outgoing employer must give the incoming one employee liability information at least 28 days before the transfer.
• Both employers must inform, and where changes are planned consult, the affected staff or their representatives.
• The new employer cannot change terms just because of the transfer, so price the real terms of the transferring staff into your bid.

When TUPE applies to a contract change

GOV.UK describes three kinds of service provision change:

• a service provided in-house, such as cleaning, is awarded to a contractor;
• a contract ends and is given to a new contractor;
• a contract ends and the work is brought back in-house by the client.

For TUPE to apply, there must be an organised grouping of employees in Great Britain whose principal purpose is carrying out the activities for that client, and the activities after the change must be fundamentally the same as before. Acas notes there is no minimum size: a grouping can be a single employee.

TUPE does not usually apply where:

• the contract is for a single event or short-term task;
• the contract is wholly or mainly for the supply of goods for the client's use;
• the work is split between several new providers so that it no longer stays mainly the same (Acas calls this fragmentation, and says TUPE is then less likely to apply);
• the transfer is a reorganisation between public bodies.

According to GOV.UK, only employees who can be clearly identified as providing the service are protected. A cleaner whose work moves to a new cleaning company is likely to transfer; someone who only occasionally covers the contract is less likely to.

If you win a contract

On the transfer date, usually the contract start date, the employees assigned to the contract become your employees. GOV.UK says the new employer takes over:

• all their previous terms and conditions of employment;
• their continuous employment, so their start date stays the same;
• collective agreements made before the transfer.

You also take on most liabilities connected with their employment, which is why the information you receive before the transfer matters.

You cannot choose which employees transfer. You also cannot change their terms because of the transfer, for example to bring them into line with your existing staff. Acas explains that changes are only possible where there is an economic, technical or organisational reason involving a change in the workforce, where the contract already allows the change, or where the change improves the employee's terms. Terms that come from a collective agreement can be renegotiated after one year, as long as the overall effect is not worse for the employee.

If you plan any changes that will affect the transferring staff (the regulations call these measures), you must tell the outgoing employer in time for them to pass this on to the staff representatives before the transfer.

If you lose a contract

As the outgoing employer, your staff who are assigned to the contract will normally transfer to the new contractor. Your main duties are:

Employee liability information. You must give the new employer written information about each transferring employee at least 28 days before the transfer (GOV.UK says four weeks). It includes their identity and age, their written statement of employment particulars, disciplinary and grievance records from the last two years, claims they have brought or may bring, and collective agreements that will continue to apply. If you fail to provide it, a tribunal can award the new employer compensation of at least £500 per employee affected.

Informing and consulting. Before the transfer, you must tell the recognised trade union or employee representatives that it is happening, when and why, how it will affect staff, and the measures the new employer plans. Where there is no union or existing representatives, you must arrange elections, unless you can deal with staff directly. For transfers from 1 July 2024, direct consultation is allowed where the business has fewer than 50 employees or fewer than 10 employees are transferring. Acas warns that failing to inform and consult can lead to an award of up to 13 weeks' uncapped gross pay for each affected employee.

Staff who do not want to transfer. If an employee objects to transferring, Acas explains that their employment ends on the transfer date and they cannot usually claim redundancy pay or unfair dismissal. There is an exception if the transfer would involve a substantial change in working conditions to their material detriment.

Typical timescales

Mobilisation periods vary, so check that the buyer's timetable leaves enough time for consultation and the 28-day deadline.

Pricing TUPE into your bid

TUPE only obliges the outgoing employer to send employee liability information 28 days before the transfer, which is far too late to price a bid. Buyers often include anonymised workforce information in the tender pack instead; if it is missing, ask for it. Read it carefully and price from it, not from your own standard rates. Look for:

• hours and pay for each person, including any rates above your usual pay scales;
• contractual extras such as overtime rates, unsocial hours premiums, shift allowances and enhanced sick pay;
• holiday entitlement above the statutory minimum;
• length of service, which affects potential redundancy costs if you later need to reorganise;
• pensions: GOV.UK notes the new employer does not have to continue an identical pension, but pension protections still apply. Staff who were compulsorily transferred out of central government, the NHS or other public bodies may be covered by the government's Fair Deal policy, which aims to keep their access to good quality pensions. Check the tender documents for any pension obligations, as these can be a significant cost;
• union recognition and collective agreements that will carry over;
• live claims, grievances or disciplinary cases;
• vacancies and agency staff currently used on the contract.

Then add the costs that come with taking on a workforce: uniforms, training, vetting or licence checks (such as SIA licences for security staff), payroll set-up, and management time during mobilisation. Allow for statutory minimum wage increases during the contract.

If the information is incomplete or looks wrong, ask a clarification question. If the contract offers indemnities about the accuracy of TUPE information, read them closely.

Two-tier workforce rules

Some rules go further than TUPE on public sector contracts:

• Employment Rights Act 2025. Section 32 gives UK government ministers, and Scottish and Welsh ministers, powers to make regulations and a code of practice so that staff working on outsourced public service contracts are treated no less favourably than transferred public sector staff working alongside them. The UK government's factsheet said it expected the code to be implemented in October 2026. Check the current position, and the tender documents, before you price.
• Wales. A Public Services Outsourcing and Workforce Code made under the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 came into force on 25 March 2026. It covers the transfer of staff, pensions and other staff on outsourced public service contracts.

Northern Ireland

TUPE 2006 is supplemented in Northern Ireland by the Service Provision Change (Protection of Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, and some details differ from Great Britain. For example, nibusinessinfo.co.uk says employee liability information must be provided not less than 14 days before the transfer. Check the Northern Ireland guidance if you work there.

Frequently asked questions

Does TUPE apply when a cleaning contract changes hands?

Usually, yes. Re-tendering a cleaning contract to a new contractor is a service provision change, and the cleaners who work mainly on that contract are likely to transfer. It may not apply if the work is a one-off or short-term task, or is split between several new providers.

Can I refuse to take on the existing staff?

No. If TUPE applies, the employees assigned to the contract transfer automatically, and the new employer cannot choose which ones to take.

Can I change transferred staff's pay to match my other staff?

Not because of the transfer. You can make changes for an economic, technical or organisational reason involving a change in the workforce, where the contract permits it, or where the change improves their terms. Take advice before making any change.

How much notice must the old contractor give of employee information?

In Great Britain, at least 28 days before the transfer. In Northern Ireland, not less than 14 days.

Who pays if the TUPE information in the tender was wrong?

It depends on the contract terms. The legal duty to provide employee liability information is between the old and new employers, and a tribunal can award compensation for failures. Public contracts may also contain indemnities about TUPE information, so read them before you bid.

Find labour-heavy contracts that are due to end soon on our contracts ending pages, browse open cleaning contracts, or get a free weekly shortlist matched to your firm: get free alerts. For bid preparation, see how to write a tender.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk: Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, regulation 3 (checked 19 October 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk: TUPE 2006, regulation 11 (employee liability information) (checked 19 October 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk: TUPE 2006, regulation 13 (duty to inform and consult) (checked 19 October 2026)
• GOV.UK: business transfers, takeovers and TUPE (checked 19 October 2026)
• GOV.UK: TUPE, transfers of employment contracts (checked 19 October 2026)
• GOV.UK: TUPE, consulting and informing (checked 19 October 2026)
• GOV.UK: TUPE, information about employees during transfers (checked 19 October 2026)
• Acas: TUPE advice for employers and employees (checked 19 October 2026)
• Acas: employee liability information (checked 19 October 2026)
• Acas: inform and consult staff in a TUPE transfer (checked 19 October 2026)
• Acas: changing an employment contract after a TUPE transfer (checked 19 October 2026)
• Acas: if employees do not want to transfer (checked 19 October 2026)
• GOV.UK: Fair Deal guidance (checked 19 October 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk: Employment Rights Act 2025 (checked 19 October 2026)
• GOV.UK: factsheet, public sector outsourcing (protection of workers) (checked 19 October 2026)
• Welsh Government: Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 (checked 19 October 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk: Service Provision Change (Protection of Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (checked 19 October 2026)
• nibusinessinfo.co.uk: transfer of employee liability information (checked 19 October 2026)