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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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Annual Closedowns
Employers may elect to close their business at certain times of the year. (Christmas/new year)
Dependants Leave
An employee is allowed a reasonable amount of time to deal with unexpected or sudden emergencies concerning a dependant. This is unpaid unless contractual arrangements state otherwise.
Garden Leave
Garden leave is a term used to describe a situation whereby an employee who has resigned from their employment or who has been dismissed by the employer is not required to work their notice and instead remains at home during the period of notice.
Informal actions
Whether it’s the employer who needs to raise an issue with an employee, or an employee who would like to make a complaint to their employer, it is useful to consider in the first instance whether an informal approach could be taken to resolve the matter.