If your hotel employs the spa team and you hand the spa to an outside operator, TUPE usually applies: the therapists, receptionists and spa manager move to the operator on their existing terms, with continuous service intact. The same happens when one operator replaces another, or when you bring the spa back in-house. The hotel's main jobs are to inform and consult staff properly, hand over accurate employee information at least 28 days before the transfer, and avoid changing terms or cutting jobs because of the transfer.
This is general information for hotels in England, Wales and Scotland, current at November 2026, not legal advice. Check your own case with an employment lawyer.
Does TUPE apply when a hotel outsources its spa?
Usually, yes. The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 cover business transfers and "service provision changes". Outsourcing is the second: activities that "cease to be carried out by a person" and "are carried out instead by another person on the client's behalf" (regulation 3(1)(b)). Gov.uk lists three versions: in-house work awarded to a contractor, a contract passing to a new contractor, and work brought back in-house (gov.uk).
Three conditions apply under regulation 3(3): an "organised grouping of employees situated in Great Britain" whose "principal purpose" is the activities for the client; the client intends the activities to continue, not as "a single specific event or task of short-term duration"; and the activities are not mainly supplying goods.
A spa team is a clear organised grouping, and it need not be a formal department. In Mach Recruitment v Oliveira (2025) the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld a finding that a "settled group" who consistently worked together qualified, even though staffing fluctuated (Lewis Silkin, September 2025). The term includes "a single employee" (regulation 2). TUPE is less likely where there is no team: a spa closed for months, or genuinely self-employed therapists. Check employment status before assuming anyone is outside TUPE.
Who transfers, and what comes with them?
Everyone assigned to the spa, other than temporarily, transfers: "An employer cannot choose which employees they want to transfer" (Acas). In a hotel that usually means therapists, attendants, spa reception and the spa manager, but normally not a housekeeper who cleans the wet area once a week.
What moves with each person, per gov.uk:
| Transfers to the new employer | Does not transfer automatically |
|---|---|
| The contract and all existing terms: pay, hours, holiday, notice, contractual bonus | An identical occupational pension (rights earned so far are protected; the same scheme need not continue) |
| Continuous service: the original start date stays | Discretionary perks that were never contractual (check the wording) |
| Accrued holiday entitlement | Collective agreement terms agreed after the transfer without the new employer (regulation 4A) |
| Liability for the hotel's past failures to observe employee rights | Employees who object before the transfer: the contract ends, which gov.uk says "is the same as resigning" (regulation 4(7)-(8)) |
| Collective agreements made before the transfer |
The operator must still enrol eligible staff in a workplace pension: a minimum of 8% of qualifying earnings, with the employer paying at least 3% (gov.uk).
What must the hotel and the operator tell staff, and when?
Both employers have duties. Under regulation 13, the employer must inform representatives "long enough before a relevant transfer to enable" consultation, covering: the fact, date and reasons; "the legal, economic and social implications"; the "measures" it envisages (a new booking platform, rota or reporting line); for the hotel, the operator's measures; and agency workers. The operator must give the hotel its measures in time (regulation 13(4)), and where measures are envisaged the employer must consult "with a view to seeking their agreement".
Who do you consult? A recognised trade union, or elected employee representatives. For transfers completing on or after 1 July 2024, an employer may consult employees directly if it has fewer than 50 employees or fewer than 10 are transferring, provided no representatives exist and no election has been invited (regulation 13A; gov.uk; Clarkslegal, May 2024). A 120-room hotel with no union, transferring twelve spa staff, will normally need an election.
Getting this wrong is expensive: a tribunal can award "such sum not exceeding thirteen weeks' pay" for each affected employee (regulation 16(3)).
What is employee liability information?
The hotel must give the operator written details of each transferring employee at least 28 days before the transfer: name and age, main terms, disciplinary action and grievances in the last two years, legal action by the employee, and claims the hotel expects (regulation 11; gov.uk). If it is missing or wrong, the award is "not less than £500 per employee" unless the tribunal considers a lower sum just and equitable (regulation 12(5)).
An operator needs this earlier to price a proposal: share anonymised roles, pay bands and contract types under an NDA at tender stage, then the full list once signed.
What changes for staff, and what does not?
A change to terms is void "if the sole or principal reason for the variation is the transfer", even with the employee's agreement (regulation 4(4)). Changes are allowed for an economic, technical or organisational (ETO) reason "entailing changes in the workforce" if the employee agrees, or where the contract already permits them (regulation 4(5); gov.uk).
Redundancy follows the same logic. A dismissal whose sole or principal reason is the transfer is unfair, unless there is an ETO reason entailing changes in the workforce (regulation 7). Acas adds that an employer "cannot make redundancies before a TUPE transfer if the reasons relate to the transfer", and the new employer cannot ask the old one to cut ahead of handover (Acas).
A new payslip, manager, training or booking system are measures and belong in the consultation.
What does a realistic timeline look like?
Illustrative example, not a quote or a template for any hotel. The regulations fix two points: employee liability information at least 28 days out (regulation 11(6)) and consultation "long enough before" the transfer (regulation 13(2)). There is no rigid timetable for the rest (DavidsonMorris, March 2026).
| Timing | Hotel (outgoing employer) | Operator (incoming employer) |
|---|---|---|
| Week −12 | Decide; NDA; share anonymised team data | Review data; draft proposal |
| Week −9 | Sign contract with TUPE and indemnity clauses | Confirm measures in writing |
| Week −8 | Announce; elect representatives; give written information | Set up pension and payroll |
| Week −6 to −3 | Consult on measures; one-to-ones; keep minutes | Meet staff; confirm uniform, training, rotas |
| Week −4 (latest) | Send employee liability information | Check it against the proposal |
| Day 0 | Transfer; hand over files and holiday balances | Issue contracts; go live on new systems |
| Week +4 | Review with GM | First payroll; check-in with each person |
Acas publishes checklists for both employers, updated 1 July 2024 (Acas).
What are the common pitfalls?
- Assuming TUPE does not apply because the spa is small or the staff part-time. An organised grouping can be one person.
- Consulting late. Rumours spread, good therapists leave, and the 13-week award is in play.
- Trimming the team before handover. Transfer-related dismissals are unfair.
- Harmonising pay on day one. Transfer-related changes are void, even if staff sign.
- Thin employee liability information, especially a missing grievance or open disciplinary.
- A contract with no TUPE clauses. Agree indemnities for pre-transfer liabilities and an exit route, since staff may transfer again later.
Is TUPE changing?
Possibly, but not yet. The government ran a call for evidence on TUPE from 8 April to 1 July 2026 under the Plan to Make Work Pay (gov.uk). Any change needs policy proposals and a further consultation first (Squire Patton Boggs, April 2026). Plan on the current rules.
How COCON handles a TUPE handover
COCON runs or staffs five hotel spas in London and Amsterdam, including Renew Spa at Hilton London Bankside and one concept across three hotels for a London hotel group. When we take over a spa with an existing team, our approach is to give the hotel our planned measures early, meet the team before transfer day, and move bookings onto Trybe with a live dashboard for the hotel. We would rather keep a good team than rebuild one. See outsourced spa management, spa staffing, spa management in London and the owners' FAQ.
FAQ
Does TUPE apply when we change from one spa operator to another? Yes, normally: a contract passing between contractors is a service provision change, and the team moves to the new operator.
Can the hotel choose which spa staff transfer? No; everyone assigned to the spa transfers automatically.
Can the operator put everyone on its standard contract? Not because of the transfer; existing terms carry over, and transfer-related changes are void even if the employee agrees.
What does a breach cost? Up to 13 weeks' pay per affected employee for failing to inform and consult, and at least £500 per employee for missing or wrong employee liability information.
Does TUPE apply to our Amsterdam hotel? No; TUPE is UK law. Dutch rules also move employees automatically with their terms, and the new employer cannot pick and choose (CMS, October 2026). See hotel spa management in Amsterdam.
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Outsourcing your spa, or changing operator, and wondering what it means for your team? Send us your headcount, menu and monthly numbers and we will give you a free, honest spa review, with a first view of the TUPE steps. Request a free spa review.
Sources
- gov.uk: Transfers and takeovers (overview)
- gov.uk: Consulting and informing employees
- gov.uk: Transfers of employment contracts
- gov.uk: Information about employees during transfers
- gov.uk: Workplace pensions, what you, your employer and the government pay
- gov.uk: Make Work Pay, TUPE call for evidence (8 April to 1 July 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: TUPE Regulations 2006, regulation 2, regulation 3, regulation 4, regulation 4A, regulation 7, regulation 11, regulation 12, regulation 13, regulation 13A, regulation 16
- Acas: TUPE advice for employers and employees
- Acas: Managing redundancies in a TUPE transfer
- Acas: TUPE transfer plan checklist templates (updated 1 July 2024)
- Lewis Silkin: TUPE takeaways, how organised must an organised grouping be? (9 September 2025)
- Clarkslegal: Changes to TUPE rules from 1 July 2024 (7 May 2024)
- DavidsonMorris: TUPE explained 2026, employer guide (4 March 2026)
- Squire Patton Boggs: Employment Rights Act 2025 round-up, trade unions, TUPE and the Fair Work Agency (April 2026)
- CMS: Reorganisation following a transfer of undertaking, Netherlands Supreme Court clarifies rules (2 October 2026)
