When an employee resigns

Resignations connected with a business transfer

Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), if a business - or a part of a business - is transferred to another business, in most cases the employees of the old employer will automatically transfer to the new employer on their existing terms and conditions.

However, an employee can't be transferred to a new employer against their will and may object to the transfer before it takes place.

In this case, if they refuse to have their contract transferred to the new employer, the employee is regarded as having resigned with effect from the transfer date. As a result there is generally:

• no dismissal
• no redundancy and therefore no right to statutory redundancy pay
• no obligation for the new employer to take them on

However, if the transfer results in a significant and unfavourable change to an employee's working conditions - eg their new place of work is hundreds of miles away from their old one - they could resign and claim unfair constructive dismissal.

For more information on business transfers, see our guide on your responsibilities to employees if you buy or sell a business.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Finding out why an employee is wanting to resign
• Checklist: what to do when an employee resigns
• Finding out why an employee has decided to leave
• Resignations in the heat of the moment
• Resignations where the employee may claim constructive dismissal
• Resignations connected with a business transfer

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