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Academy conversions, TUPE’s and Admitted Bodies

TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations and its purpose is to protect employees if the business in which they are employed changes hands. Its effect is to move employees and any liabilities associated with them from the old employer to the new employer by operation of law.

If you are outsourcing services and have a number of staff who will be subject to TUPE), you will need to consider obligations regarding the affected employees’ pension rights. We recommend that you share our TUPE Transfers – Implications for LGPS Members page with the effected employee’s.

This will also apply to any schools moving away from the local authority and converting to an academy and/or joining a Multi-academy trust (MAT) or an academy moving to another MAT. For more information, please refer to:

TUPE Transfer Member Leaving

If you are outsourcing services or a school converting to an Academy and/or joining a Multi Academy Trust (MAT).

  • What you need to do
    • Notify us of the TUPE transfer as early as possible – please download and complete the Admitted Body Application form and send it to the Employer and Communications Team.
    • Please do not include these members on the leaver spreadsheet as this will complicate the process – we will send you the staff data capture spreadsheet to complete with a list of the staff involved along with our Admitted Body Application form.
    • During the procurement exercise please share the guide for new employers and the Employer Duties page with the interested contractors. This will help them understand the roles and responsibilities that come with being an LGPS employer within the Devon County Council or Somerset Council Pension Funds.
    • We will use the information you provide to inform the actuary, who will then produce a new employer report detailing the employer contribution rate and associated bond figure. In line with good practice the report will show the new employer starting 100% funded. We recommend this report is obtained prior to a procurement exercise to ensure all parties are aware of the costs involved when becoming an LGPS admitted body.
    • After the final payroll has been completed for the TUPED group, we will send you a mid-year transfer spreadsheet to complete to ensure their CARE pension records are correct on the transfer date.
    • On conversion to academy status, the new academy will join the Academy pool within the Fund, meaning there will be full cross subsidy of costs between the new academy and the other academies in the pool so the total effective contribution rate is the same as that payable by all other employers of the Academy pool.
    • If a Pass-Through Arrangement has been agreed, we would ask the outsourcing employer to inform Peninsula Pensions so we and the actuary can note this on our records. Please note that approval for the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is no longer required by Multi-Academy Trusts (MAT) seeking pass-through arrangements for employees covered by the DfE Guarantee policy, provided that the employees are from one of the three groups detailed in the guidance.
    • We will use information within the actuary report when we produce the associated admission agreement documents.
    • Whilst it is preferable for the admission agreement and associated documentation to be signed before the TUPE date we understand this cannot always occur. However, we do expect contributions to be deducted and paid across to the Fund each month from the TUPE date. If the actuary contribution and bond report has not been issued we will advise the temporary employer rate to use.    
  • What happens when the contract ends or the last member leaves their employment?

    You must tell us when the contract ends or the last remaining member involved in the TUPE, leaves their employment. A cessation valuation will be completed and if there is a deficit we would expect the admitted body to cover repayment, likewise if overfunded a credit maybe paid to the admitted body subject to the Funding strategy and any risk sharing arrangement with letting authority. Details relating to risk sharing e.g. pass through arrangements, should be set out in the commercial agreement with the letting authority. It is not part of the admission agreement.       

    • Academies moving to another Multi-academy trust (MAT)

    Any MAT who takes on the liability of an employer means that they inherit all liability for past and present members which means that the new MAT will be responsible for all pension queries relating to that academy old and new.

    We recommend that you obtain the historical payroll information from the academy so that you can continue to fulfil your responsibilities as a Scheme employer.  If a preserved member wants their pension early on ill health grounds, it would be the new MAT’s responsibility to follow the process to see if the member meets the requirements.

  • What you need to do
    • Notify us of the transfer as early as possible – please email the Employer and Communications Team with details of the TUPE and expected transfer date.
    • Please do not submit any Starters or Leavers information for those members – we will send you a Staff Data Capture form to complete.
    • After the final payroll has been completed for the TUPED group by the previous MAT, we will send you a mid-year transfer spreadsheet to complete to ensure their CARE pension records are correct on the transfer date.

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