In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, partner David Teigman, senior counsel Nick LaSpina, and special international labor & employment counsel Nicola Bartholomew, discuss differences between asset sales in the US and the UK, with respect to transfers of employees. In short, there are significant differences that are not necessarily intuitive to US practitioners. In the US, parties will have commercial freedom to make offers of employment and negotiate terms, whereas in the UK employees will transfer automatically as a result of TUPE and a number of significant protections and obligations apply that will need to be factored into the deal. So be sure to tune into this informative discussion about employment and benefits issues in asset sales in the US and the UK.
Nicola J. Bartholomew
Nicola is a special international labor & employment counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department.
Nicola advises clients across numerous sectors on a broad range of transactional and advisory employment law and HR matters. Prior to joining Proskauer, she trained and worked in leading Magic Circle firms. She also spent a number of years at another leading US law firm and completed a secondment to a global investment bank.
Nicola assists clients in proactively managing HR legal risk on a strategic and day-to-day level. She specializes in:
- Advising on corporate and commercial transactions with a particular emphasis on the application of TUPE in business transfers, and outsourcing/services arrangements including advising and supporting clients through TUPE information and consultation processes;
- Advising clients on the full employment life-cycle from complex hires, performance management, grievance and disciplinary procedures to reorganizations and terminations both in the UK and globally;
- Drafting and negotiating key employment and benefits related agreements including offer letters, contracts of employment, senior executive agreements, bonus and retention arrangements, consultancy agreements, settlement arrangements, secondment and other HR documentation. Guiding clients in drafting, analyzing, and implementing non-competition and confidentiality agreements and other business protection measures;
- Counselling and supporting teams in the design, implementation and administration of HR policies;
- Advising on Senior Manager and Certification Regime and Remuneration Code issues;
- Working closely with key stakeholders, HR and in-house legal teams advising on individual and collective redundancy programs and senior and executive terminations;
- Collaborating with global employment teams on international employment HR programs; and
- Creating and delivering training on key HR issues and advising on changes in law including on COVID-19, employee status issues and IR35.