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No 897 The Statutory Sick Pay Percentage Threshold (Revocation, Transitional and Savings Provisions ) (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) Order 2014
This Order comes into operation on 6/4/14 by effectively abolishing the Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS) which allowed employers to claim reimbursement of their costs when the amount of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid exceeded 13% of their National Insurance contribution liability to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
386 Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998
The Regulations implement a European Directive relevant to working time which cover an array of matters including the following: maximum average weekly working time, average normal hours of night workers, health assessments for night workers, rest breaks, records, weekly rest, paid annual leave, exemptions, right to take a claim to Industrial Tribunals and so on.
Temporary lay-off and short-time working
From time to time employers may experience a temporary shortage of work and it may be necessary to lay-off all or some of their employees in order to preserve long term employment security. If temporary lay-off is being considered there are important aspects of employment and contract law to take into account.
The Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020
These Regulations and Rules of Procedure establish requirements in relation to proceedings before industrial tribunals (ITs) and the Fair Employment Tribunal (FET). They revoke and replace earlier regulations and rules which separately dealt with these tribunals. The 2020 Regulations provide a revised and consolidated text for the rules and procedures of the industrial tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal while simplifying language and structure, being consistent with better regulation principles. The 2020 Regulations also take account of the introduction of Early Conciliation; in particular setting out the implications arising from the adherence, or non-adherence, to the requirements of Early Conciliation.
Increase of limits on Tribunal awards and payments under employment rights legislation
The Department for the Economy has made a statutory rule entitled The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2023 (legislation.gov.uk).
The Order increases, from 6 April 2023, limits applicable to certain awards and payments under employment rights legislation in line with the Retail Prices Index.
The Department has issued a press release relating to the above changes in limits - https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/news/department-economy-announces-annual-increase-limits-unfair-dismissal-and-redundancy-payments.
For details on the limits for previous years, please access the following link https://www.legislation.gov.uk/primary+secondary?title=The%20Employment…
Video Guide to the Employment Tribunal Process
Law Centre NI has launched a new video guide to the Employment Tribunal process, which will help people to understand what they should expect when submitting a claim to the Tribunal.
Available in English, Hungarian, Lithuanian and Polish, the Guide is split into two chapters so that people can learn about the steps that they will go through before a Hearing takes place, as well as what happens on the day of the Hearing.
You can access the video and the written guide at this link:
Guide to the Employment Tribunal | Law Centre Northern Ireland (lawcentreni.org)
For more information, contact our Workplace Information Service team at 03300 555 300 or Law Centre NI at 028 9024 4401.
The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2024
This Order, which corresponds to an Order (S.I. 2024/242) made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under sections 150, 150A, 151 and 151A of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, alters the rates and amounts of certain social security benefits and other sums.
Part 2 relates to social security benefits, pensions and allowances.
Article 3 and Schedule 1 alter the rates of benefits and increases of benefit (except those referred to in Article 3(2)) specified in Parts I, III, IV and V of Schedule 4 to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (“the Contributions and Benefits Act”).
Article 4 increases the rates and amounts of certain pensions and allowances under the Contributions and Benefits Act.
Article 5 increases the sums payable as part of a Category A or Category B retirement pension under sections 11(1) and 13(2) and (3) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 on account of increases in guaranteed minimum pensions.
Article 6 increases the rates and amounts relating to the state pension under Part 1 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 including the full rate, amounts exceeding the full rate, the rate of increments and inherited increments.
Article 7 specifies the dates from which the sums specified for rates or amounts of benefits in Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13 are altered.
Article 8 increases the rate of statutory sick pay.
Article 9 increases the rate of statutory maternity pay.
Article 10 increases the rates of statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay, statutory shared parental pay and statutory parental bereavement pay.
Article 11 increases the rate of graduated retirement benefit.
Article 12 increases the amount of a Category C retirement pension.
Article 13 increases the prescribed maximum additional pension for the purposes of section 52(3) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.
Article 14 increases the rates of disability living allowance.
Article 15 increases the rates of personal independence payment.
Article 16 increases the rates of age addition and the rates referred to in Article 16(2) for claimants entitled to long-term incapacity benefit in so far as they correspond to a claimant in Great Britain who was subject to regulation 2(3) of the Employment and Support Allowance (Up-rating Modification) (Transitional) Regulations 2008.
Article 17 increases the rates of transitional invalidity allowance and the rates referred to in Article 17(2) for claimants entitled to long-term incapacity benefit in so far as they correspond to a claimant in Great Britain who was subject to regulation 2(3) of the Employment and Support Allowance (Up-rating Modification) (Transitional) Regulations 2008.
Article 18 increases the rates of widowed mother’s allowance, widow’s pension and widowed parent’s allowance.
Article 19 specifies the rates of bereavement support payment.
Part 3 relates to income support and housing benefit.
Article 20 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of income support. Article 20(3) and Schedule 2 sets out certain personal allowances and Article 20(4) and (5) and Schedule 3 set out the premiums.
Article 21 provides for the percentage increase of sums payable by way of special transitional additions to income support.
Article 22 states the sum by which any income support of a person involved in a trade dispute is reduced.
Article 23 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of housing benefit. Article 23(5) and Schedule 4 sets out certain personal allowances and Article 23(7) and Schedule 5 set out the premiums.
Article 24 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of housing benefit for persons over the qualifying age for state pension credit. Article 24(5) and Schedule 6 set out the personal allowances and Article 24(6) and (7) and Schedule 7 set out the premiums.
Part 4 relates to jobseeker’s allowance.
Article 25 increases the age-related amounts for contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance.
Article 26 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of income-based jobseeker’s allowance. Article 26(3) and Schedule 8 sets out certain personal allowances; Article 26(4) and (5) and Schedule 9 set out the premiums; Article 26(6) and Schedule 10 set out the amounts of premiums relevant to joint-claim couples.
Article 27 states the sum by which any jobseeker’s allowance of a person involved in a trade dispute is reduced.
Article 28 increases the amounts of jobseeker’s allowance for the purposes of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.
Part 5 relates to state pension credit.
Article 29 specifies sums relevant to state pension credit.
Part 6 relates to employment and support allowance.
Article 30 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of employment and support allowance under the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008. Article 30(2) and (3) and Schedule 11 increase the contributory allowance of employment and support allowance and the prescribed amounts for income-related employment and support allowance; Article 30(3), (4) and (5) and Schedule 12 sets out the premiums and Article 30(6) increases the components.
Article 31 increases the prescribed amounts for employment and support allowance set out in regulation 62 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.
Part 7 relates to universal credit.
Article 32 and Schedule 13 specify the amounts relevant to universal credit.
Article 33 increases the amounts specified for the transitional severe disability premium element in paragraph 5 of Schedule 2, and paragraph 5 of Schedule 3, to the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.
Article 34 revokes the Social Security (2023 Benefits Up-rating) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024.