Search Results
Advice on Agreeing and Changing Contracts of Employment
This Guide is intended to give general advice and guidance about the main legal considerations which may arise when employers or employees wish to make changes to the contract of employment
Bereavement Leave
Employees are sometimes entitled to paid bereavement leave if someone close to them dies. All employees are entitled to reasonable time off without pay to arrange or attend the funeral of a dependant.
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.
No 149 The Maternity Allowance (Curtailment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015
These Regulations enable a woman to end her Maternity Allowance early so that an eligible person (a spouse, civil partner, partner or the child’s father) can take the remaining number of untaken weeks of Maternity Allowance as shared parental pay and/or shared parental leave.
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.
Job applications
There are two main options for inviting applications to job vacancies:
• providing a job application form to be completed and returned, or;
• asking applicants to send a copy of their curriculum vitae (CV).
Industrial tribunals
To make a claim to an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal, in most circumstances employees will need to have worked continuously for the organisation for one year. There are other types of claim, for example regarding unpaid wages, holiday entitlements or discrimination, which do not require one year's continuous service.
Effective Joint Committees
This Guide provides information on Joint Committees which promote positive working relationships between employees or their representatives with employers, and encourage good engagement and sound communications.
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.
Statutory Sick Pay
Employers are responsible for the payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for periods of illness of four days or more up to a total of 28 weeks' absence in any one period of incapacity for work.