TUPE in Tenders: What Bidders Need to Know

1. What TUPE is

TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations. In broad terms, when a service transfers from one provider to another, the employees assigned to that service can transfer to the incoming provider on their existing terms and conditions, with continuity of employment preserved. It is designed to protect employees when contracts change hands.

2. When it applies in tenders

TUPE commonly applies on re-tendered service contracts such as facilities management, cleaning, catering, care, security, and other people-heavy services, where an identifiable group of staff delivers the work. Whether it applies to a specific tender is a legal question that depends on the facts, so treat the tender documents as the starting point and take advice where it matters.

3. Why it affects your bid and price

• You may inherit staff on existing salaries, terms, pensions and length of service
• Those costs and liabilities must be built into your price
• Redundancy, holiday and pension liabilities can carry real cost
• Assumptions made without data can turn a won contract into a loss

4. Get the information you need

Buyers are usually expected to provide employee liability information for staff who may transfer: numbers, roles, salaries, terms, and relevant liabilities, often anonymised. If the tender does not include it, request it, and make clear where your price depends on assumptions because the data was not provided. Pricing a TUPE contract blind is a serious risk.

5. How to address TUPE in your response

• Show you understand the likely transfer and have planned for it
• Set out your consultation and onboarding approach for transferring staff
• State clearly any assumptions where information was not provided
• Evidence experience of managing TUPE transfers smoothly
• Reflect the real staff cost in your price, not an optimistic guess