Contracts & compliance
TUPE and cleaning contracts: what transfers, when, and who does what
When a cleaning contract moves to a new supplier, TUPE normally applies as a service provision change: cleaners assigned to your site transfer to the incoming contractor on their existing terms, pay and continuous service. The outgoing supplier must provide employee liability information at least 28 days before the transfer and consult affected staff.
Why cleaning contracts are almost always a TUPE situation
TUPE covers 'service provision changes' — where a service is moved from one contractor to another, or brought in-house, and there is an organised group of employees whose principal purpose is carrying out that service for that client.
A cleaning team assigned to your building fits that description precisely, which is why nearly every contractor change triggers TUPE. It applies whether the contract is worth a few thousand pounds or a few hundred thousand.
Who actually transfers
Only employees assigned to the organised grouping serving your site. A cleaner working exclusively at your premises transfers. A regional supervisor covering thirty buildings normally does not, though the outgoing supplier may argue otherwise.
Disputes are usually about mobile staff, recently added employees, and long-term absentees. Ask for the assignment evidence — rotas, timesheets, site records — rather than accepting a list at face value.
Employee liability information (ELI)
The outgoing supplier must give the incoming supplier written employee liability information at least 28 days before the transfer. Late or incomplete ELI is a common source of mobilisation chaos and can be pursued at tribunal.
- Identity and age of each transferring employee
- Written particulars of employment (terms, pay, hours)
- Disciplinary and grievance records from the previous two years
- Any legal actions brought in the previous two years
- Collective agreements that apply
Consultation and timings
Both suppliers must inform, and where measures are proposed consult, appropriate representatives of affected employees. There is no fixed minimum period in a service provision change, but it must happen long enough before the transfer to be meaningful.
Practically, build TUPE into the mobilisation plan: ELI requested at award, consultation in weeks two and three, transfer on the go-live date.
What the client should do
You are not the employer, but the transfer happens on your premises and a badly run one lands in your reception. Require both suppliers to confirm the TUPE position in writing before you award, and make the ELI deadline a contractual milestone.
Ask the incoming supplier what happens to pay rates. Terms transfer, so a supplier promising a much lower price on the same staff is either cutting hours or planning post-transfer changes that carry legal risk.
Harmonising terms after a transfer
Changing transferred employees' terms for a reason connected to the transfer is void, even with agreement, apart from limited exceptions. Practically this means the new supplier inherits the old pay rates and cannot simply level everyone down in month two.
This guide is general information, not legal advice — take employment law advice on any specific transfer.
Frequently asked questions
Does TUPE apply to cleaning contracts?
In almost all cases, yes. Moving a cleaning contract from one contractor to another is a service provision change, and cleaners assigned to the site transfer to the new supplier on their existing terms.
Can we avoid TUPE by changing the specification?
Not reliably. Minor scope changes do not defeat a transfer. Only a fundamentally different service, or no identifiable assigned grouping, takes the situation outside TUPE — and that is a legal judgement, not a procurement tactic.
How long before the transfer must employee information be provided?
Employee liability information must be provided to the incoming supplier at least 28 days before the transfer date.
Do transferring cleaners keep their pay and holiday entitlement?
Yes. Terms, pay, continuous service and accrued holiday transfer across. Changes connected to the transfer are generally void.
Who is responsible for consulting the staff?
Both suppliers have duties: the outgoing employer informs and consults its affected employees, and the incoming supplier must supply details of any measures it plans.
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