The company I work for has been taken over, and the personnel manager has told us that our previous work contracts no longer apply. However the new company has not yet negotiated new contracts. Is the personnel manager correct to say our previous contracts are worthless?
If the company was taken over as a going concern the change of ownership is almost certainly covered by the Transfer of Undertakings legislation. This means that employees’ contracts are transferred to the new firm intact and your terms and conditions remain the same. If the personnel manager is able to come up with a plausible explanation of why this should not be the case, discuss your situation either with your union representative or a solicitor.