There will be no TUPE transfer for Tech Nation staff to Barclays Eagle Labs.

It means that almost 50 staff at the tech entrepreneur network will be made redundant when it ceases operations at the end of the month.

Tech Nation had sought to secure the jobs of these staff members via Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations, which are designed to protect the rights of an employee when a business, part of a business or contract transfers to a new employer.

The government handed the Digital Growth Grant, worth £12.1 million and designed to help small and scaling tech businesses across the UK, to Barclays Eagle Labs in a shock move which left Tech Nation unable to continue to operate.

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Tech Nation believed that TUPE applies in this situation, but Barclays disagreed.

However Eagle Labs may speak separately to Tech Nation employees about potential opportunities.

The Digital Growth Grant will fund startup and scaleup support activities until March 2025.

Among the more than 5,000 businesses Tech Nation has supported are Monzo, Revolut, Bloom and Wild, Zilch, Just Eat, DarkTrace, Marshmallow, Sky Scanner, Peak AI and Deliveroo.

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