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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.
Annual holidays
Most workers - whether part-time or full-time - are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid annual leave. Employers can set the times of the year that leave needs to be taken and workers must give the employer notice when they want to take leave.
Rights and responsibilities
Both employers and employees have certain rights and responsibilities towards each other. Some will apply to everyone in the workplace, while others will be dependent on the individual’s working status.
Study or training
Employees aged 16 or 17 who have not achieved a certain standard in their education or training have the right to reasonable time off with pay to study or train for a relevant qualification which will help them towards that standard.
Arbitration services
Those who have submitted a tribunal claim will also be offered access to the Labour Relations Agency’s Arbitration Scheme which offers a quick, non–legalistic, less formal, confidential and more cost effective alternative to a tribunal hearing.
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.Statutory Paternity Pay
When your wife, partner or civil partner gives birth or adopts a child, you may be entitled to Statutory Paternity Pay.
Employer-led Early Conciliation
Early Conciliation is available to employers who are dealing with a workplace dispute which could result in a claim being made to the Industrial or Fair Employment Tribunal. The employer's representative can also contact us to request Early Conciliation on the employer's behalf.
Steps to resolve
When there is an issue in the workplace, employers and employees have a number of options and steps they can take to resolve it, ranging from informal conversations to formal processes and procedures.
Surrogate Parent leave
A surrogate parent may be eligible to Statutory Adoption Leave and Pay from 5 April 2015, provided that: