Acquisitions and Due Diligence Reports

Employment insights that go beyond the boilerplate

In corporate transactions, employment issues often sit behind the financials and commercial terms. Yet they frequently surface later, shaping integration, revealing liabilities, and challenging assumptions. 

Watershed provides focused, practical advice on the employment dimensions of acquisitions and disposals, ensuring legal risks are identified early and handled with intelligence.


We are not a firm that ticks boxes. Our due diligence is commercially relevant, employment-specific, and aligned with the operational reality our clients face post-deal.

Not just risk spotting. Real world readiness

Whether advising pre-deal or post-acquisition, our role is to help clients understand what they’re really buying. That means highlighting not only what’s in the data room, but what might be missing from it.


We routinely produce bespoke employment due diligence reports for clients alongside or in place of a multi-service firm’s general review. These may include:

• Comparison of employment terms across merging entities

• Identification of contractual anomalies or liabilities

• Clarity on TUPE and consultation obligations

• Review of policies, collective agreements, and benefit structures

Where required, we advise on integration strategy, contractual harmonisation, and practical implementation post-close.

On-the-ground due diligence and seeing what paper misses

Some risks never make it into a spreadsheet. That’s why Watershed also offers in-person, post-acquisition employment audits, giving clients a grounded view of the organisation they’ve acquired.


We assess workplace culture, uncover potential employee relations issues, and test management practices against stated policy. We look beyond the handbook to understand what’s actually happening on the ground, whether that’s systemic grievances, management capability gaps, or cultural misalignments that could derail integration.


In one instance, we identified a pattern of long-running grievances and informal “workarounds” at a care provider post-acquisition, none of which had been disclosed during the legal process. These insights enabled our client to act swiftly and protect both reputation and staff morale.

TUPE, warranties, and commercial alignment

Many of our clients are navigating not only acquisitions but also complex commercial arrangements with TUPE implications. We advise on the drafting and interpretation of TUPE clauses, and routinely sense-check those produced by generalist firms, often identifying gaps in protection or misunderstandings of practical impact.


For organisations regularly acquiring or divesting business units, Watershed provides continuity and clarity. We understand the deal logic, but we also understand the people risk, and ensure your legal agreements and internal processes reflect both.