Employee Liability Information (ELI): What Incoming Employers Need to Check
Updated: 3 days ago
Employee Liability Information, usually shortened to ELI, is a core part of a TUPE transfer. For an incoming employer, however, receiving a large data pack is not the same as having reliable due diligence. The information needs to be checked, reconciled and challenged where something does not make sense.
What should you check?
Start by reconciling the employee list against contracts, payroll information and organisational data. Check job titles, continuous service dates, contractual hours, salary, allowances, notice periods, holiday entitlement, pension information and contractual benefits. Fixed-term arrangements and any variations to terms should be clearly identified rather than inferred.
Look beyond contractual terms
The incoming employer also needs visibility of relevant disciplinary and grievance matters, claims and potential liabilities. Outstanding employee relations issues can materially change the risk profile of a transfer. If the documentation refers to an issue but the supporting information is missing, record the gap and request clarification.
Check for inconsistencies
Common warning signs include different salaries appearing in different documents, missing contracts, employees described as permanent in one document and fixed-term in another, unexplained allowances, incomplete absence data, and employee relations matters that appear elsewhere but are absent from the ELI schedule. Treat discrepancies as questions to resolve, not assumptions to make.
Consider immigration and right-to-work implications
Where sponsored workers are transferring, identify this early. Immigration compliance and sponsor obligations can require separate action and timescales. Do not assume ordinary employee data is sufficient to manage sponsorship responsibilities.
Maintain an ELI issues log
A practical approach is to maintain a structured issues log recording the employee, document or data point affected, the discrepancy, clarification requested, response received, risk level and any action required. This creates an audit trail and prevents important queries becoming buried in email chains.
The HFactor can support your TUPE due diligence
The HFactor supports incoming and outgoing employers through complex TUPE exercises, including ELI review, due diligence, measures, consultation, employee relations and post-transfer restructuring. Early scrutiny of the information can expose risks while there is still time to address them.
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Tell us what is happening in your organisation. The HFactor offers a confidential, free initial consultation to help identify your priority HR risks and a practical next step.
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