Cala account move possibly Scottish marketing’s first application of TUPE
The Scottish industry may have seen its first example of the TUPE employment measures in practice, following Cala Homes account move.
When Clear Marketing was appointed it is understood it was forced to take over the employment obligations of nine Redcell staff – including a managing director. In effect this meant it either had to hire the staff or finance their redundancies.
Following a test-case in England where a PR account executive was found to have an unfair dismissal claim against a rival consultancy which picked up the account she handled, it is feared TUPE will now become a major feature on the marketing services landscape. It is anticipated that many similar cases will follow, with the implication that the pitching process will become effectively unlawful, crippling the industry.
Last month IPA responded to the threat posed to the industry by TUPE by calling for an industry wide exemption, amidst fears that the TUPE rules could wreck the dynamics of an industry worth £10billion per year to the UK economy.
The Rt Hon Peter Luff, who chairs the influential cross party Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Select Committee, said TUPE was having a “seriously adverse impact” on the profession.
However, Stephen Miller, head of the Employment Law Group at MacRoberts solicitors, said that an exemption from the law was unlikely to be granted, and the industry would have to find a way to adapt to the new TUPE rules.
“The industry is going to have to learn to live with it, and be a bit more ‘creative’ in how it deals with TUPE,” he said.
“When properly understood, TUPE is a more flexible measure than some appreciate. They should not expect that someone will just switch off these important, protective measures for their industry. Instead they should do what every other industry does and learn to do business and act competitively, even with the spectre of TUPE.”
No one at Cala Homes was available to comment.