Sun pays in Logical case

Vendor agrees out-of-court settlement with former Logical workers

Sun has settled out of court with a group of former Logical employees.

About 10 workers from the reseller were running an on-site IT support service at UBS Bank in London as part of an outsourcing deal.

But when Sun won the contract in January 2002 it claimed it was not obliged to take the workers on under Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations.

TUPE states that workers transferred in outsourcing deals are guaranteed the same terms of employment at the outsourcer. The workers took Sun to court.

A Sun representative confirmed that the firm had settled out of court and had agreed to pay an undisclosed sum, but could not comment further for legal reasons.

The workers were also unable to discuss the case because they had signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Julian Crook, public sector director at outsourcing company ITNET, said worker terms and conditions must be considered by any firm involved in outsourcing.

Other problems could occur as a result of cultural differences and diverse employment terms, he added.