Rights after company acquisition

[MuffinWar]

Hi all,

I've NC'd as this thread will totally out me.
A couple of months ago, the company I work for was acquired. We are currently working on merging the two UK offices.
I've been asking and getting fobbed off. We had a HR contractor who left a month ago and has not been replaced. The rest of he HR team are based in the US.
There are two office manager/exec assistants. I'm one of them. I was told by the legal department in the US that TUPE won't apply since the company sold its shares.

I get the impression the other woman will remain as office manager and EA and my boss has just asked me to think of ideas how I could support the wider team which makes me think my job is basically 'gone' and he's trying to justify to someone higher up why I should stay. Do I have any rights? Should the two of us not be 'pooled' and one made redundant?
Because they acquired us is it basically tough shit for me?
If anyone can advise or point me in the direction of a good employment lawyer in the westend of london, I'd be really grateful.

Bump

I'd have thought that TUPE would apply here?

Call Acas for free advice.

"I was told by the legal department in the US that TUPE won't apply since the company sold its shares."

I would work on the assumption that a legal department in the US know diddly-squat about British employment law tbh. I can't see any reason why TUPE wouldn't apply; your employment should be continuous and your terms and conditions remain the same.

In respect of redundancies, if there are two people doing the same job, and the company only needs one, then yes I would expect both to be in a 'pool', for consultation to be carried out, and a number of selection criteria applied to identify which person would be made redundant.

As Flowery said, I wouldn't take the word of anyone in US HR on TUPE. There are cases in which TUPE applies, when all the relevant factors are taken into account, even if it was a share sale

Here is a link which gives an example.

It might be worth talking to ACAS in the first instance for some free advice.

Thanks everyone. I'm so stressed out. The not knowing is driving me crazy. I'm going to call ACAS tomorrow.

I might be wrong but if the company is registered in England and Wales then TUPE regs do apply look them up at companies house.

www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company

Who holds the shares is another matter.

www.tssa.org.uk/en/Your-union/your-workplace/employment-rights/tupe--a-guide-to-the-regulations.cfm

They are registered in the UK but it's the share sale part I'm struggling to understand which is why I'm thinking I'll need an employment lawyer at some point.

Either your employment has transferred to another company, in which case TUPE applies and your T and C's and continuous service are protected, or your employer stays the same company and the shares are owned by someone else, which means no impact on you at all, and TUPE wouldn't need to apply.

Either way, your contract is still in place as before. Focus on the redundancy issue.

I suspect redundancy will come up at some point but they haven't told me my job is at risk but then why is my boss asking to think up 'other ways to help the team to show you add value' if it's not...

Can they make me redundant without having to do a consultation and 'pooling' the me and the other woman?