TUPE is short for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. It is employment law, not part of the Procurement Act 2023, but it matters in tenders for services such as cleaning, catering and security.
How it applies. gov.uk’s guidance on transfers describes a “service provision change”: a service handled in-house is awarded to a contractor, a contract ends and goes to a new contractor, or the work returns in-house. In those cases employees who are clearly identified as providing the service may be protected: their jobs usually move to the new employer, and their terms and conditions carry over. Contracts for supplying goods, or for a single event or short-term task, are excluded. gov.uk also says: “Transfers within the public sector are not usually covered by TUPE but some transfers from the public sector into the private sector are.”
What it means for a small supplier. If you win a contract that is currently run by someone else, you may inherit their staff, along with their pay, hours and conditions. That changes your costs, so price it in before you bid rather than after. The tender documents may include staffing information for bidders, so look for it, and use the clarification process to ask the buyer if it is missing. TUPE has legal detail that this entry does not cover, so take advice from an employment solicitor or adviser before you commit to a price.