Taxi Driver Online

My case was at Ashford Industrial Tribunal, about 3 year ago, Gould-v-Kent Top Travel. I don't have the case details to hand and google can't seem to find the actual case, though it finds the barrister who appeared for KTT (and lost though she doesn't mention that bit).

Providing your driver and escort have been employed (you pay their tax and NI) on that contract,

Are you sure that's a requirement, and self employed contractors and escorts do not come under TUPE?

How can an escort pass the "test" to be self employed?

The problem there is the contract may be with you as an individual, and not a ltd.co. Contracts are generally not transferrable under a change of entity, though some councils may allow this. As a director of that ltd co you will have to be mainly employed by the ltd co to do that contract, and little else.

Having won a TUPE claim against Kent County Council when my tendered school bus route was taken over by their own Kent Top Travel bus company, KCC were of the impression that TUPE "doesn't apply". That was a very expensive mistake on their part.

Providing your driver and escort have been employed (you pay their tax and NI) on that contract, and you say they have solely been employed on that contract and you have documents to prove it, then TUPE will apply providing the new service is not substantially different to the one you provided.

So your service goes from home A, via home B to school X. They alter the run to go via home C slightly off line of route between home A and school X. The fact that the original passenger still go from A and B to X means it's still substantially the same service. TUPE applies.

One of the reasons TUPE was introduced in the UK was due to our friends in the EU sticking their oars in and giving displaced workers RIGHTS (wait for input from TT) after our "friend" Thatcher tried privatising the NHS cleaning services and lowering wages. She made a very, very, expensive mistake when she found out about TUPE and that it DOES apply in the UK.

Whilst it may not be of any comfort to you to lose your contract and staff, your staff should not suffer loss of work, wages or conditions if the contract transfers to another operator. They are obliged to employ them at the same or better rates and conditions.

This is something county councils fail to take into account when they re-let taxi contract, mainly because most taxi drivers are self-employed. The CC must also take into account whether the escort and driver are on minimum wages or above. Again, KCC have found this out the hard was recently when they reminded operators of the need to pay MW to escorts! A number of contracts were handed back and re-tendered because of that.

Edited to add that if the new operator fails to employ your ex-staff, then they are guilty of causing unfair dismissal. It is your duty to inform your staff of the situation and to provide details of wages and T&C of employment to others who may be tendering for the job if requested. The new incumbent may have a nasty surprise in store.

It appears to me that Roy has already cleaned up on this one, wish yer luck Grandad reckon the cheap skate who nicked the contract is about to get his bollox mangled

Stating the bleedin obvious had the Staff or even Grandad been a member of UNITE RMT or GMB one phone call would have sorted this

It appears to me that Roy has already cleaned up on this one, wish yer luck Grandad reckon the cheap skate who nicked the contract is about to get his bollox mangled

Stating the bleedin obvious had the Staff or even Grandad been a member of UNITE RMT or GMB one phone call would have sorted this