Location: Northern Ireland
Rep.of Ireland
Location: Northern Ireland
Rep.of Ireland

First Tuesday Q&A

The claimant was dismissed by reason of gross misconduct and in particular.

Home / Employment Law Hub / Features / FirstTuesdayListing

Can we continue with a disciplinary process if the employee leaves before the process has concluded?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/12/2020 You can continue with the disciplinary process after an employee has left the business. However it is worth considering whether this would have any benefit given that employment relationship has ended and the employee is under no obligation to cooperate with the process. Furthermore, even if the di...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Discipline and Grievance

Does a week of annual leave count as a week on lay-off?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/12/2020 If an employee has been on lay-off for four or more consecutive weeks or for six weeks in any 13 week period, they are entitled to claim for a statutory redundancy payment. ‘Lay-off’ is narrowly defined under article 182(1) of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and means a situatio...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Redundancy

Can we insist employees take unused annual leave or should they be allowed to carry it forward due to COVID-19?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/12/2020 Regulation 18 of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 enables employers to require employees to take annual leave on particular days provided that they give employees twice as much notice as the leave they are being required to take. Therefore, employers can ask employees to use unt...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Working Time Coronavirus/Covid-19

Do we have to permit a request to cancel pre-booked annual leave due to lockdown?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/12/2020 Employees do not have a statutory right under the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 2016 or other employment legislation to cancel annual leave requests. Cancellation requests are usually dealt with at an employer's discretion (in the absence of any contractual provision). Whilst employers...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Working Time Coronavirus/Covid-19

How Do We Make A Claim Under The JSS?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/10/2020 The JSS will be open from 1 November 2020 to the end of April 2021. Claims can be made online via gov.uk and the system will open in December 2020. Grants under the JSS will be paid on a monthly basis and in arrears. This means that a claim can only be submitted: in respect of a given pay period; ...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Coronavirus/Covid-19

If We Have Recently Employed New Staff on Zero Hour’s Contracts, Do We Have to Put Them on the JSS?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/10/2020 There is nothing to prevent an employer placing zero hours’ staff on the JSS specifically by virtue of them being on zero hours contracts, provided that they satisfy the eligibility requirements set out above. If the staff are very new, they may not qualify for the JSS on the basis that they do not...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Coronavirus/Covid-19

Do We Have to Obtain Employee Agreement to Place Them on The JSS?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/10/2020 Yes. The Job Support Factsheet states that employers must agree the new short-time working arrangements with their employees, including any contractual changes and notify employees in writing. On request, the employer must provide HMRC with a copy of its agreement with the employee regarding reduc...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Coronavirus/Covid-19

Do Employees Have To Have Been Furloughed Previously To Be Put On The Job Support Scheme?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/10/2020 No, employees do not need to have been furloughed previously in order to be put on the JSS. In fact, employers can avail of the JSS even if they did not use the CJRS at all. However, the JSS is intended to primarily assist small to medium sized businesses (“SMEs”) and large employers need to demons...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Coronavirus/Covid-19

If we reduce an employee’s hours, what happens to their accrued holiday?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 04/08/2020 Under regulation 15 and regulation 16 of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (“WTR”), a worker is entitled to a period of 5.6 weeks’ paid leave in each leave year (pro-rated for part-time workers). This entitlement equates to 28 days for those who work 5 days a week and is comprise...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Working Time

If an employee has failed to attend a disciplinary hearing, can we proceed in their absence?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 04/08/2020 When dealing with misconduct by a member of staff, it is important that a fair procedure is followed, otherwise any resulting dismissal may be considered unfair (providing the individual satisfies the eligibility criteria for bringing an unfair dismissal claim). In accordance with the LRA Code of P...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Discipline and Grievance