Search Results
Preparing for the hiring process
Taking the time to carefully plan the hiring process is important and ensures that you hire an employee with the right mix of skills and characteristics for the job.
Jury service
Jury service is a public duty.
Changes to Fit Note requirements in Northern Ireland
The requirements for doctors fit notes in Northern Ireland have been amended to remove the need for a doctor to produce a fit note in ink. The change becomes live from the 6th April 2022.
The Department For Communities have explained the change here.
The legislation for the change can be found here or on our dedicated legislation pages on this website. (click the legislation button at the top of this page)
Employee representatives
Employees who act as representatives for consultation about redundancies or business transfers, or are candidates to be representatives of this kind, are entitled to reasonable time off with pay during working hours to perform these functions and to receive appropriate training.
Resources
We provide a range of resources to help you navigate employment relations in Northern Ireland.
Please note that on 6 December 2022 we will have moved our Head Office to new premises at James House, 2-4 Cromac Avenue, the Gasworks, Belfast. However, some of our guides and resources may still have our old, Gordon Street address on them. We are systematically working our way through to update them with the new address. Phone numbers (03300 555 300 and 03300 552 220) and email addresses remain the same.
Warnings and other disciplinary action
Warnings in the workplace should be part of a disciplinary process and they should be designed to allow employees to change a particular behaviour within a given timeframe. They should be given as quickly as possible after the behaviour occurs. Any sanctions should be proportionate to the alleged offence.
New rates for National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage
From the 1st of April 2024, the changes in respect of the above are as follows:
* If you are 21 and over, you will be entitled to £11.44 per hour (National Living Wage)
* If you are between 18-20, you are entitled to £8.60
* If you are under 18 or an Apprentice, you will be entitled to £6.40
Please note that to avail of the National Minimum Wage you must be at least of school leaving age
In Northern Ireland this means If you turn 16 during the school year (between the 1st of September and the 1st of July) you can leave school after the 30th of June.
If you turn 16 between 2 July and 31 August you can’t leave school until 30 June the following year.
You can access the relevant legislation by clicking on the link below
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/432/made
Trade unions
The Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 defines a trade union as “an organisation (whether permanent or temporary) which … consists wholly or mainly of workers of one or more descriptions and is an organisation whose principal purposes include the regulation of relations between workers … and employers or employers’ associations.
Flexible Futures 2024
The Labour Relations Agency, in partnership with Timely Careers, and supported by the Department for the Economy, will host #FlexibleFutures24, a conference examining the case for flexible working, on Thursday 14 March 2024 in Stranmillis College, Belfast.Public duties
Under certain circumstances employers must give employees who hold certain public positions reasonable time off to perform the duties associated with them.