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Rests and breaks
Employees are entitled to breaks for meals and to rest. As far as possible employers should provide breaks, facilities and comfortable surroundings for additional needs such as breastfeeding or expressing milk.
Dismissal
Employees can be dismissed for reasons such as gross misconduct or a fundamental breach of contract. A fair and robust process should be followed where all parties have certain rights and responsibilities.
Personal grievances
Grievances are concerns, problems or complaints that employees may raise with their employers.
Discrimination
Employers have a legal duty to ensure that they do not treat an individual less favourably on any grounds related to their age, gender, marital status, disability, race/nationality, sexual orientation, religious belief or political opinion.
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.
Agency worker
An agency worker is someone who is supplied by an employment business/agency to work for the hirer under a contract of employment or other such contract as agreed between the employment business/agency and the hirer.
Employee-led Early Conciliation
From 27 January 2020 anyone who wishes to lodge a claim with the Industrial or Fair Employment Tribunal must first notify the Labour Relations Agency and discuss the option of Early Conciliation. You will not be able to proceed to tribunal without at least considering this option.
Breach of Contract
If an employer fundamentally breaches a contract of employment, it could lead to the employee resigning. If an employee fundamentally breaches a contract of employment he or she could be dismissed.
Pension scheme trustees and directors of trustee companies
Employees who are trustees of an occupational pension scheme (as defined in Section 1 of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993) or directors of trustee companies are entitled to reasonable time off with pay to carry out any of their trustee’s duties, or to receive training relevant to those duties.
Bank holiday confirmed for Queen Elizabeth's funeral - guidance for employers and employees
Following the death of the Queen, a period of national mourning was announced and it will continue until the end of the day of the state funeral, Monday 19 September 2022.
There is no obligation on organisations to suspend business during the mourning period. Guidance on this can be found on the GOV.UK website here.
However, a special bank holiday has been confirmed on the day of the state funeral, Monday, 19 September 2022.
The guidance below explains how leave for special bank holidays should be handled by employers.