Compact discs Home | News & events | Legal updates | Data protection good practice on transfer of TUPE employee liability information

Data protection good practice on transfer of TUPE employee liability information

01 July 2008

Good practice guidance for dealing with data transfers in the context of a business sale or service provision change has been published by the Information Commissioner

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) requires an outgoing employer to provide “employee liability” information about transferring employees (including their names and age) to the in-coming employer at least 14 days before the transfer. The Information Commissioner's Office has published new guidance to help employers comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA”) in respect of this obligation.

While this data exchange is permitted under the DPA because it is a requirement of TUPE the new guidance states that both employers must take care to handle the information in accordance with the relevant data protection principles.  For example, they must ensure the information is up to date and is stored securely.

The guidance also contains useful general information on the exchange of information in corporate transactions.  There may be situations when employers receive requests for information about their transferring workforce in addition to that required by TUPE.  The prospective new employer may request more information than is required under TUPE or, if there are a number of potential bidders, only one of whom will become the eventual new employer but all of whom need  information to assess whether to pursue the purchase. 
The guidance says that wherever possible, the employer should release information that is anonymous or, at the very least, should remove obvious identifiers such as name.

Are any of the issues in this article giving you a headache? If so, we want to know

Name *

Comments*

I agree to Shoosmiths holding information about me in accordance with its privacy policy.*

To subscribe to our news updates click here.

 

Email this page