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Buyer's Guide · From the Director

TUPE in Security Contracts:
What It Really Means for Buyers

TUPE is the most misunderstood thing in security procurement — and that misunderstanding costs buyers dearly, in both directions. Some stay trapped in bad contracts because they think they're "stuck" with the staff. Others switch blind and get played. Here's what TUPE actually means when you change security provider, how it gets used against you, and how to protect yourself. (This is general guidance, not legal advice — for your specific situation, take proper advice.) — David Foster, Director & Co-Owner

What TUPE
actually is.

TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations. In plain terms, it's a law that protects employees when the business or service they work in changes hands — including when a security contract moves from one provider to another. It exists so people don't lose their jobs or their terms simply because their employer changed.

That's the key: TUPE protects the workers — not the buyer, and not the outgoing provider. When you change security companies, the officers genuinely assigned to your site usually transfer to your new provider automatically, on their existing terms, with continuous service preserved. The official ACAS guidance even uses security as its textbook example: when a client retenders their guarding contract, the security staff transfer across, because the work and the client stay the same.

The myth: "We're stuck with
the old provider's staff."

This misconception keeps good companies in contracts they should have left. Let me be balanced about it.

Yes — the officers assigned to your site will, in most cases, transfer under TUPE. But "stuck" is usually the wrong word. Often, underperformance in security is a management problem, not an officer problem: the same person performs completely differently under a provider that supports, trains and communicates with them. You're frequently inheriting people who were badly led — and the thing you're changing is the management.

And crucially, TUPE places no barrier on you switching. It governs what happens to the officers' employment when you move; it does not lock you to a failing provider. The fear of TUPE keeps buyers in bad contracts far more than the law itself ever should.

But be honest — sometimes
the staff ARE the problem.

Here's the part a lot of new providers won't tell you at tender, and should. If the officers were genuinely the problem in the first place, TUPE means that problem transfers across with them — it hasn't gone away just because the cap badge changed. A good incoming provider should flag this with you honestly during negotiation, not spring it on you afterwards.

So go in clear-eyed: identify early whether your issues are management-driven (which a better provider fixes) or genuinely officer-driven (which needs managing properly from day one).

How TUPE gets
played against buyers.

This is where it gets sharp, and where buyers get caught. Officers have the right either to stay with the outgoing provider or to transfer to the new one — and that right gets exploited.

  • The good-officer flight risk: if your best officers choose to stay with the outgoing provider, your new provider starts with a recruitment hole on day one — which means site problems from the off.
  • The swap: a less scrupulous outgoing provider will entice your good officers away — a new site, more money — and backfill your assignment with a problem officer they've been wanting rid of. That problem officer then transfers to the new provider under TUPE, and becomes both their headache and yours. You've effectively been handed someone else's problem.

Neither of these is hypothetical. Both are common. And both are preventable if you control the process.

How to
protect yourself.

You have more control than you're often told. Before and during any switch:

  • Insist the outgoing contractor cannot move or reassign your officers without your explicit written permission. Build this into your terms. It stops the quiet swap.
  • If there are specific officers you want to keep, write to them directly, tell them you'd like them to transfer, and make your wishes clear. Legitimate, transparent encouragement to retain good people is entirely reasonable.
  • Make your incoming provider advise you, honestly and at negotiation stage, on exactly who is expected to transfer and what that means — before you sign, not after.
  • Take proper advice on your specific contract. TUPE is fact-specific and the stakes are real.

Handled well, you keep the good people, you're not handed the bad ones by stealth, and you switch with your eyes open.

How we handle
a transfer.

When we take on a contract involving a TUPE transfer, we tell you the truth up front: who's expected to transfer, what it means, and where the risks are — at negotiation, not after you've signed. We request the Employee Liability Information properly and on time, communicate early with the transferring team, and bring them into how we work — real support, proper management, continuous training, and the visibility of DOB·Live.

Where the management was the problem, that change is often all it takes. Where an individual genuinely isn't right, we manage it fairly and properly, rather than pretending it away. Either way, you're never handed a hidden problem by us.

Don't let a misunderstanding
keep you somewhere bad.

TUPE is a protection for workers, not a trap for buyers — but it can be played against you if you let the process run unsupervised. Understand it, control the staffing process, take proper advice, and choose a provider who's honest with you before you sign. The officers are often not the reason a contract goes bad — but make sure you're not quietly handed the ones who are.

Read our full guide to ethical security procurement, or find out why clients choose us.

← Back to the Ethical Security Procurement Guide Questions to Ask → Why Contracts Go Bad → ACS: The Truth →
Common Questions

TUPE in Security — FAQ

If I change security provider, am I stuck with the same officers?

The officers assigned to your site usually transfer under TUPE on their existing terms — but "stuck" is misleading. Underperformance is often a management problem, not an officer one, and the same people frequently perform differently under better leadership. TUPE also places no barrier on you switching provider. That said, if the officers genuinely were the problem, that issue transfers too — so go in clear-eyed.

Can my old security provider move my good officers before a transfer?

They can try — and some do. A less scrupulous outgoing provider may entice your best officers to other sites with more pay, then backfill your assignment with a problem officer they want rid of, who transfers to you under TUPE. Protect yourself by insisting in your terms that no officer is moved or reassigned without your explicit written permission.

How do I keep the good officers when I switch provider?

If there are officers you want to retain, write to them directly, tell them you'd like them to transfer to the new provider, and make your wishes clear. Legitimate, transparent encouragement is reasonable. And require the outgoing provider not to reassign staff without your written consent, so your good people aren't quietly moved out.

What is TUPE in simple terms?

TUPE — the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations — protects employees' jobs and terms when the service they work in moves to a new provider. When you change security companies, the officers assigned to your site generally transfer automatically, with pay, conditions and length of service preserved. It protects the workers, not the buyer or the outgoing provider.

Is this legal advice?

No — this is general guidance to help you understand how TUPE typically works when changing security provider. TUPE is complex and fact-specific, so for your particular contract you should take your own professional or legal advice.

Thinking of Switching Provider?

Talk to the Director.
Not a sales team.

David Foster — Director & Co-Owner, Risk Secured Ltd
David Foster — Director & Co-Owner · Ex-RAF Police · 30 years across all security sectors

When you contact Risk Secured, you reach David Foster — Director and Co-Owner. Ex-RAF Police, three decades across every sector of the security industry. The person who'll actually run your security.

I know security can feel like a grudge spend — so my job is to make it work for you, not just bill you. We start with an honest conversation about your business and its risks, and I'll tell you straight where your money should go, including where you're paying for cover you don't need.

No call centres, no sales reps. Just expertise from someone whose name is on the door — and who stays close enough to the work that you'd think we were in-house.

Speak to the Director — 0121 751 9038Or send me a message
Call 0121 751 9038