Full legislation
s.31Z
Change of ownership of business
(1)
This section shall have effect
where—
(a)
a change occurs (whether by virtue of a sale or other disposition or by operation of law) in the ownership of a business for the purposes of which a person is employed, or of a part of such a business; and
(b)
in connection with that change the person by whom the employee is employed
immediately before the change occurs (in this section referred to as
the
previous
owner
)
terminates the employee’s contract in accordance with
section 6
or
7
.
(2)
If, by agreement with the employee, the person who immediately after the change
occurs is the owner of the business or of the part of the business in question, as
the case may be, (in this section referred to as
the
new
owner
)
renews the employee’s contract of employment (with the substitution of the new owner
for the previous owner) or re-engages him under a new contract of employment,
section 31T(2)
shall have effect as if the renewal or re-engagement
had been a renewal or re-engagement by the previous owner (without any substitution
of the new owner for the previous owner).
(3)
This section shall have effect (subject to the necessary modifications) in relation to a case
where—
(a)
the person by whom a business, or part of a business, is owned immediately before a change is one of the persons by whom (whether as partners, trustees or otherwise) it is owned immediately after the change; or
(b)
the persons by whom a business, or part of a business, is owned immediately before a change (whether as partners, trustees or otherwise) include the person or one or more of the persons by whom it is owned immediately after the change,
as this section has effect where the previous owner and the new owner are wholly different persons.
(4)
Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring any variation of a contract of employment by agreement between the parties to be treated as constituting a termination of the contract.