News | Does a temporary cessation of business prevent a TUPE transfer?
A recent case heard by the Employment Appeals Tribunal – Wood v London Colney Parish Council – has delivered findings with regard to TUPE and a temporary cessation of operations.
In August 1967, London Colney Parish Council granted a 99 year lease of the Caledon Community Centre in London Colney to the London Colney Community Association (LCCA). LCCA sub-let or granted licences of various parts of the Centre, including an occupational licence granted for a club area to Caledon Social Club Ltd. from 1.4.94 to 31.3.10. Members of the LCCA had the right to use the club area, which had a premises licence for the sale of alcohol.
Wood was employed by the Social Club as a bar steward, being the sole employee and licensee. On 6 June 08 the premises licence certificate was withdrawn by St Albans & District Council and an appeal was lodged. On 11 Aug 08 LCCA surrendered the lease of the Centre back to the Parish Council. On 12 Aug 08, Wood was dismissed. On 29 Aug 08 Caledon Social Club – by this time with debts of nearly £20,000, mainly to the brewery – withdrew its appeal against the withdrawal of the premises licence certificate and on 18 Sept 08 surrendered the license of the club area to the Parish Council, who set up a new management committee – Caledon Community Association (CCA) to replace the LCCA, and applied for a premises licence for the club area. A personal licence was granted to Councillor Flynn - a member of the Parish Council and the bar re-opened on 6 Oct 08. A second premises licence was then granted to the Council on 8 Nov 08. A full time steward was not employed for cost reasons but Councillor Flynn ran the bar on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and it opened occasionally on the other days using casual bar staff from time to time.
The question is whether the temporary cessation of the operation (the bar) prevented a TUPE transfer taking place and the EAT concluded that it did not, saying that it was plain that the Parish Council intended to obtain a premises licence itself and re-open the bar area, operating in exactly the same way as the Social Club had. The entity itself did not cease, it was only temporarily suspended until 6 October.
