It is easy to leave the TUPE process to HR and to legal advisors. They are the subject matter experts to whom we often defer when it comes to the legal side. But should any manager, employee representative or union representative involved just lie back and think of England?
There are a large number of tasks that will be carried out by managers and negotiations that will involve managers, employees and their representatives. It follows therefore that there is a need for these people to understand what is going on during the TUPE.
The three basic rules of change management state that those impacted by a change should be:

• Involved with the decision-making processes – If you do not involve, you will meet with resistance and those impacted will not take ownership of the change.
• Informed as to what is happening at all times – If you do not inform, people will make it up and often think the worst.
• Bad news is better than no news.

The most important people involved in TUPE are not HR or lawyers but the people impacted by the TUPE.
However, before taking any action you must consult with HR and legal advisors. You can then use the MAPP to co-ordinate decision-making, discussion and the delegation of tasks.

Take a look at “Project Managing a TUPE – 1st Steps”:

• Your first decision-card is ‘thinking about a TUPE’. This first card sets the scene. You need to make sure that you are sure that a TUPE is appropriate.
• You do this by identifying the ‘Business Transfers’ – what business do you intend to transfer out.
• You also need be aware of any assumptions, risks and possible issues by carrying out a ‘Benefit and Risk Analysis’.

Once you have identified the business to be transferred you need to involve ‘Key Stakeholders’ – remember the three basic rules of change management. Oh and don’t forget your customers!
There are other steps involved but at this point you should also be well into relationship management with the other business involved – the one taking on the transfer of people and business. So some cards are duplicated here into transferor actions and transferee actions.

The two cards identified – and repeated here – in 1st Steps are:

• Inform of Possible TUPE
• TUPE Preparation Meeting

Both of these actions will need to be carried out by transferor and transferee businesses.

These are just some of the first decisions that you need to take into account. Remember that ‘Project Managing a TUPE – 1st Steps’ is free – just click on the MAPP Store image and follow the link.
And if you like ‘1st Steps’, then follow the same link and purchase the full set of ‘Project Managing a TUPE, which carries more decision-cards and allows everyone to be involved in the process from advisors to decision-makers.