Am I covered by the contract? And is my employer?

Hi. I have been working for a dental surgery for the past 3 years. When first hired, I signed a contract. It says:
....this statement describes the main terms and conditions of your employment with Dr. Such and Such trading as This and That practice.
Since, the practice was bought by new owners who never provided the staff with a new contract. We demanded but they are useless in every aspect.

In January I had a serious accident and was off work till now. During this time the whole team of 7people was fired overnight for no reason.
I couldn't be fired because of being off sick with proper medical certificates. So they at least withheld my sick pay&pay slips. Now I have been replaced by somebody new.

I am going back to work next week to a job that is no longer mine.
I know this is not legal but it happened, anyway.

I want to know whether I am still covered by the contract with the previous owner (I believe I am). Also, how much of a notice they have to give me when they dismiss me.

Thanks for the answers so far.
I am in the UK.

The contract does not state anything about transitions of rules from owner to owner.
I think I read somewhere that unless the new owner makes a new contract, he basically accepts the previous one....as well as he buys the staff, patients and equipment with the business.
Aarrgh, tried ACAS and CAB but can not get throught...tricky one.

Hi there,
the previous answers are referring to the United States and you are in the UK.
Try to make time to go to the CAB but I am fairly sure that when a company takes over then the rights of those workers are covered in law.
The staff cannot in any case be fired. They must have redundancy pay at least. The amount varies according to time served.
You you all go to an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal.
Before you do that why don't you go to see a solicitor, that specialises in employment law. The first 1/2 hour is free.
In the meanwhile, Google unfair dismissal, takeover etc and see what comes up. You will be sure to find an article there.
I will search out of curiosity but it may take a while.
I will add a further note if I find a good site.
PS It is definately illegal to not supply you with a new contract if the new working conditions have changed. All the more reason to go to a tribunal.
As an afterthought, have you a professional body that you could consult?
There is a web site that offers telephone advice from a solicitor for an unlimited time at a cost of 拢35 a call. www.qandalawadviceline.co.uk.
Try also www.yourrights.org.uk (find this by typing in google "workers rights on takeover.") Then click on the site rights of workers on takeover- merger. If you type in the site name you get taken to the wrong section of the site and is confusing.
Also try www.lawonthe web.co.uk.
Workers rights must be transferred and redundancy rights also apply under EEC law.

Without actually reading the contract, you can't get a definitive answer. That said, you are most likely NOT covered by the previous contract for several reasons. Unless there is language in the contract that specifically states the contract is transferable with the ownership of the company AND the sales contract specifically states the new owners are purchasing the contracts as well as the business, the new owners are not legally bound by the contract. As far as the amount of notice required, it can vary by state, but in most cases there is no LEGALLY required amount of time between giving an employee notice and severing ties with said employee.

Cannot answer this 'cause we do not know where you are. Laws differ from state to state, country to country. Sorry.