Can I claim unfair dismissal if my new job is with a sister company?

The situation

I am writing to seek some guidance regarding my situation here in England. For the last three years, I have worked as a supervisor at 'Green Valley Logistics'. On 14th February, my manager informed me that my role was being made redundant due to a restructure, and I was given my final pay cheque on 28th February. However, I have just discovered that the company that let me go is actually owned by the same parent group as 'Blue Sky Deliveries', which is a separate company I have been applying to. I actually interviewed with Blue Sky Deliveries last week and they offered me a similar role starting on 15th March with a salary of £28,000 per annum. It feels like they have just moved the work from one pocket to another to avoid paying my redundancy package. I have already tried speaking to my former HR department, but they insisted that Green Valley Logistics and Blue Sky Deliveries are completely different legal entities and have no connection to one another. I am unsure if the law treats these two companies as the same employer for the purpose of my redundancy rights and whether I can argue that my dismissal was actually unfair because the work still exists within the wider group.

Detailed Analysis

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, the relationship between Green Valley Logistics and Blue Sky Deliveries is central to your claim. Even though HR claims they are separate, the law looks at the underlying control structure.

Section 231 states that "any two employers shall be treated as associated if— a one is a company of which the other (directly or indirectly) has control, or b both are companies of which a third person (directly or indirectly) has control"^[1]. This means if a parent group controls both Green Valley Logistics and Blue Sky Deliveries, they are 'associated employers'^[1]. An associated employer is a company that is linked to your employer through shared ownership or control.

If they are associated, the law may treat them as a single employer for certain rights. This could mean that if the work you did at Green Valley Logistics is essentially the same work being offered at Blue Sky Deliveries, your redundancy might not be considered genuine. A redundancy occurs when a job disappears; if the work simply moves to a sister company, you may argue the dismissal was unfair.

However, the law is unsettled on exactly how much 'control' is required to trigger these rights in every specific scenario, and whether the similarity in roles is enough to prove the redundancy was a sham. You are an "employee" because you worked under a "contract of employment"^[2]. An employee is an individual who has a contract of service with an employer^[2]. While you have these rights, proving the companies are legally 'associated' is the hurdle you must clear.

Note that local or specific employment tribunal rules may add further procedural requirements.

Statutory Citations

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