An employer must give an employee whom they dismiss at least the notice outlined in their contract of employment or the statutory minimum notice period, whichever is longer. The statutory minimum notice period is outlined in Article 118 of The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. It provides the notice required to be given by an employer to terminate the contract of employment of a person who has been continuously employed for one month or more:

• is not less than one week's notice if their period of continuous employment is less than two years,
  
• is not less than one week's notice for each year of continuous employment if their period of continuous employment is two years or more but less than twelve years, and
  
• is not less than twelve weeks' notice if their period of continuous employment is twelve years or more.

Failure to provide the correct contractual or statutory notice may give rise to a claim for wrongful dismissal.

Summary dismissal (i.e. dismissal without notice) may be appropriate in cases of gross misconduct. However, the employer must still carry out a reasonable investigation and comply with the statutory dismissal procedure in such instances.

This article was provided by Madison Bowyer, an Associate in the Employment Law Group at Arthur Cox NI. 

T:+44 28 9026 5886 
E: Madison.bowyer@arthurcox.com 
https://www.arthurcox.com/