When does it become acceptable [timeframe] to align salaries, working hours etc after a TUPE Transfer so that all workers are treated to the same? We have recently had a transfer and there are members of staff working all different times on different rates. Other staff working longer hours are getting very aggrieved about this to the point where I can see it becoming a formal complaint in the near future.

The short answer is never! Post-transfer harmonisation of terms and conditions of employment will almost always be because of the transfer itself and will, therefore, not amount to a permitted change under TUPE, being an economic, technical or organisational (ETO) reason connected with the transfer. The "ETO defence" only applies if there is a change in the workforce and this must involve a change in the numbers, or possibly functions, of the employees.

In the broadest of terms, the greater the period of time that elapses after a transfer the better. However, there is no specific period after which it is safe to say that the connection with the TUPE transfer has been broken, as the test is