Unite is pursuing collective employment tribunal claims against airline catering firm Do & Co over its refusal to transfer 117 employees at London Heathrow, the union said on Tuesday, and says a further 44 workers due to move to the company by 1 September are in the same position.

The first set of claims follows Dnata’s loss of its American Airlines catering contract at Heathrow, which was taken over by Do & Co. Unite said Do & Co refused to transfer the 117 employees, more than 100 of whom were Unite members, and that those workers subsequently lost their jobs. The union said proceedings are in progress and tribunal claims are pending.

In early June, Unite said, it learned that Do & Co had won the catering contract for Air India flights operating out of Heathrow, again taking over from Dnata. Forty-four employees should transfer to Do & Co by 1 September, the majority of them Unite members, according to the union.

Unite said Do & Co has refused to engage with it on that transfer. The only correspondence received had been marked “without prejudice”, the union said, together with the position that TUPE may not apply because Do & Co considers the services provided under the contract to be different from those previously delivered by Dnata.

Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, a service provision change occurs when a contract ends and is given to a new contractor, and only employees who can be clearly identified as providing the service being transferred are protected, according to government guidance on business transfers. The guidance states that the size of the business does not matter. Employers involved in a transfer are also required to inform and consult representatives of affected employees.

Unite said it has been the case for decades that when an airline moves to another catering firm under a service provider change, the affected employees move to the new contract holder.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The behaviour of Do & Co has been nothing short of disgraceful. While Unite is taking legal action, it has decided to put the jobs of more of our members at risk.

“TUPE agreements must be honoured. The situation is completely unacceptable and Unite will never allow our members to be left high and dry. All workers who have been refused transfers have our full support in their fight to protect their jobs.”

Unite regional officer Shereen Higginson said: “Time is running out for our members who worked for Dnata on the Air India work who are impacted. Unless consultation begins immediately, there is a high chance they will be left without jobs.

“Do & Co has form for this behaviour, which goes completely against any agreements. It must honour TUPE and Unite will look into all avenues to ensure this is met. It must stop burying its head in the sand and negotiate with Unite.”

The claims enter a tribunal system in which the backlog of active claims passed half a million by the end of September 2025, according to quarterly tribunal statistics, with open employment tribunal cases up 33 per cent on the same period a year earlier.

Unite has previously taken employment status cases to the employment appeal tribunal, including a 2018 ruling on agency workers paid through payroll companies which found that such a worker could be a worker of the agency, the payroll company or both.

Do & Co has been approached for comment.

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk