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Potential Problems at Christmas Time
The Labour Relations Agency Workplace Information Service receives enquiries every Christmas from businesses with questions and problems.
To help you prepare and avoid potential issues we have compiled some frequently asked questions which we receive each Christmas season.
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
The Living Wage
The real Living Wage is based on the cost of living and is voluntarily paid by employers.
Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
SPL is a legal entitlement for eligible parents of babies due, or children placed for adoption, on or after 5 April 2015.
Dependants Leave
An employee is allowed a reasonable amount of time to deal with unexpected or sudden emergencies concerning a dependant. This is unpaid unless contractual arrangements state otherwise.
Payslips
Employers are legally obliged to provide employees with an itemised pay statement. These are usually called payslips or wage slips.
Paternity Leave
Paternity leave allows parents to take time off from their work to have time with their child following a birth.
Informal actions
Whether it’s the employer who needs to raise an issue with an employee, or an employee who would like to make a complaint to their employer, it is useful to consider in the first instance whether an informal approach could be taken to resolve the matter.
SSP Entitlement Northern Ireland – Temporary Extension
Temporary changes were made to the SSP Regulations effective from 14th December 2020 to deal with the exceptional circumstances faced by employers and employees in relation to Covid related illness.
Public duties
Under certain circumstances employers must give employees who hold certain public positions reasonable time off to perform the duties associated with them.