I'd rather not get deported, thank you

[Dirk Koopman]

Ovid wrote:
> --- Matt Clark <matt at mattclark.net> wrote:
> 
>>> Since my work permit is tied to my employer, if they go bye-bye, I
>>> apparently have 28 days to find a new job or else I face
>> deportation.
>>
>> Why do you think you will have a new employer when Pipex is bought?
> 
> Because my employment is tied to Pipex Ltd.  If the division I work for
> is not Pipex Ltd, or they choose another name, my work permit is no
> longer valid.
> 

IANAL, however, you are employed by the same entity, whomsoever owns it, 
until you are formally dismissed or made redundant.

The fact that it might not be called the same nor be owned by the same 
people nor (maybe) owned in the same way (eg public company bought by a 
private equity firm or the other way around) is irrelevant. The company 
you work for will become part of the new company, it may formally cease 
to exist (although this is unlikely), the terms and conditions flow 
onward. The contract is with the original company until that contract is 
formally terminated (by making you redundant).  If it *not* formally 
terminated, then it is considered to be running on and further, be 
formally confirmed as continuing the next time you are paid.

The new owners may choose to vary the contract, by making you sign a new 
one with the new company name on it, but that contract will be 
considered to be a continuation/variation of the previous contract.

The Home Office FAQ is all about you "changing jobs" and they mean here, 
you leaving one employer and explicitly joining a different one. It is 
not about staying with one employer through its various life stages.

However, there is a fashion in this country for making people redundant 
and then inviting them to reapply for one of a (usually smaller) number 
of "other" "different" (but to our eyes - the same) jobs. I strongly 
suspect that if that happens then you would be in trouble. The problem 
being that, in this situation, you actually lose your job.

Any decent lawyer will tell you the facts, a good place to look for a 
specialist is via the employment tribunals.

Dirk