British Telecommunications Act 1981
1981 c. 38
An Act to establish a public corporation to be called British Telecommunications; to make provision with respect to its functions and to transfer to it certain property, rights and liabilities of the Post Office; to make further provision with respect to the Post Office; to provide for dealings by the Treasury in the shares of Cable and Wireless Limited; to amend the Telegraphs Acts; and for connected purposes.
[27th July 1981]
(1) Before the appointed day the Post Office shall take steps to separate from the remainder of its undertaking the part thereof concerned with the provision of telecommunication and data processing services (that is to say, the part thereof which is under the management and control of the deputy chairman who has special responsibility for telecommunication and data processing services).
(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, on the appointed day there shall be transferred from the Post Office to, and by virtue of this Act vested in, the Corporation all the property, rights and liabilities which, immediately before that day, were comprised in the part of the Post Office’s undertaking mentioned in subsection (1).
(3) At any time before the appointed day the Post Office and the Corporation may agree in writing that subsection (2) shall not have effect in relation to any property, rights and liabilities specified in the agreement.
(4) At any time before the expiration of twelve months beginning with the appointed day the Post Office and the Corporation may agree in writing that, as from such date, not earlier than the appointed day, as may be specified in or determined by or under the agreement and in such circumstances (if any) as may be so specified—
(a) there shall be transferred from the Post Office to, and vested in, the Corporation any property, rights and liabilities specified in the agreement; or
(b) there shall be transferred from the Corporation to, and vested in, the Post Office any property, rights and liabilities so specified.
(5) No agreement under subsection (3) or (4) shall have effect in relation to rights and liabilities under a contract of employment unless the employee concerned is a party to the agreement.
(6) Subject to subsection (7), in the case of any agreement under subsection (4) the property, rights and liabilities in question shall on the date of the coming into force of the agreement be transferred, and by virtue of the agreement vest, in accordance with the agreement.
(7) Schedule 2 shall apply to any transfer under subsection (2) or (6) subject, in the case of a transfer under subsection (6), to any reference in that Schedule to a vesting by virtue of this Act being construed as a reference to a vesting by virtue of the agreement in question; and those subsections shall have effect subject to the provisions of that Schedule.
(8) Any reference in this Act to a transfer by this Act includes a reference to a transfer under subsection (6).
(1) In paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 (lands and heritages to which section 6(1) of that Act applies and occupied by the Post Office by certain property used for the purposes of telecommunication services) for the words “the Post Office” there shall be substituted the words “ British Telecommunications ”.
(2) This section applies to Scotland only.