Search Results
Maternity Leave
The law sets out the legal minimum leave entitlements for mothers.
Agreements between employers and employees may provide for better arrangements than the statutory minimum.
Qualifying periods
Most people are entitled to the rights outlined below. However, in many cases, qualifying conditions must be fulfilled before a right may be claimed. Some rights apply to all employees as soon as they start work; others depend on factors such as length of service, continuity of employment and activities in addition to the job, for example, union work.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Women expecting a baby who satisfy the qualifying conditions are entitled to a maximum of 39 weeks SMP.
Public holidays and bank holidays
Employees are not automatically entitled to paid time off for bank and public holidays.
Unfair dismissal claim
There are several ways a dismissal could be considered unfair.
1977-1994
Index of employment-related statute (Acts and Orders) 1977-1994
Types of contracts
In addition to contracts of employment, a number of other types of contracts exist.
We Are Moving!
On 6 December 2022, the Labour Relations Agency moved its Head Office to James House, 2-4 Cromac Avenue, the Gasworks, at the bottom of Belfast's Ormeau Road. Our Regional Office remains at Richmond Chambers, The Diamond, Derry/L'Derry. Read more here.
Please note that phone numbers (03300 555 300 and 03300 552 220) and email addresses will remain the same.
However, there is a wealth of guides and resources on our website which may still have our old Gordon Street address. We are working our way through these to update them with the new address.
Legislation
Welcome to the Labour Relations Agency’s employment legislation link pages. We have attempted to collate all relevant employment legislation (Primary and Secondary) on these pages for our users’ ease of reference. Essentially users will get a brief summary of the content of the legislation and then a link to the www.legislation.gov.uk website delivered by the National Archives via www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Who we are
The Labour Relations Agency (the Agency) was established in 1976 with responsibility for promoting the improvement of employment relations in Northern Ireland. It is independent and publicly funded.