First Tuesday Q&A

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

Can an Employer Waive the Eight Weeks’ Notice Requirement to Return to Work Early from Maternity Leave?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 07/08/2023 An employee who is seeking to return to work before the end of her additional maternity leave (AML) must give the employer at least eight weeks’ notice of her intention to return early. However, it is for the employer to decide whether it wishes to enforce the eight-week notice requirement if the e...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Policies and Procedures Family Friendly Rights

Whilst on Maternity Leave, are there any Consequences for an Employee taking more than 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) Days?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 02/05/2023 All pregnant employees are legally entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ statutory maternity leave, made up of 26 weeks’ Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 week’s Additional Maternity Leave, provided it is a single continuous period of leave. Employers can appreciate that this is a significant period of ti...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Contracts of Employment Policies and Procedures Leave Family Friendly Rights

What are an Employee’s Rights when they Suffer the Death of a Child?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 10/03/2023 An employee is entitled to take time off work if they have a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy or if their child dies before turning 18. Under the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, an employee is entitled to two weeks’ parental bereavement leave regardless of th...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Absence and Sickness Leave Family Friendly Rights Wellbeing

Are employees Entitled to take time off for IVF appointments?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 10/03/2023 There is currently no specific statutory right to time off for IVF treatment, but employees can still ask you for time off. If this cannot be accommodated in the circumstances, you might wish to offer the employee the option of taking annual leave instead to attend such appointments. The Equality C...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Policies and Procedures Leave Family Friendly Rights

What Are an Employer’s Obligations to Employees Undergoing IVF Treatment?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/09/2022 Currently, there is no legal right for time off work for fertility treatment, but any sickness should be treated like any other sickness if unable to work. There are pregnancy rights once you have had the last part of the IVF process (embryo transfer) and might become pregnant. At the moment the UK...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Absence and Sickness Family Friendly Rights

Are Employees Who Take Shared Parental Leave Entitled to Return to the Same Job?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 05/07/2022 Shared parental leave entitles a child’s mother and a second person (whether that be the child’s father or a partner) to share up to 50 of the 52 weeks of time off work. The overall amount of leave is not extended but rather, it allows leave to be shared equally between those two people. An employe...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Pay Family Friendly Rights

What notice should employees give in order to take parental bereavement leave?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/03/2022 The rules regarding notification will be set out in the forthcoming regulations. However, by way of indication, we expect that that new rules will largely correspond with those applicable in Great Britain. In order to take parental bereavement leave in Great Britain, employees must give the employe...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Absence and Sickness Policies and Procedures Pay Leave Family Friendly Rights

Parental Bereavement Leave - What protections rights does an employee have?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/03/2022 Parents taking parental bereavement leave will be entitled to the same employment protections as those associated with other forms of family related leave i.e. maternity, paternity, adoption, parental and shared parental leave. This will include protection from detriment and dismissal as a result o...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Absence and Sickness Leave Family Friendly Rights

What is the rate of paid parental bereavement leave and how will it be calculated?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/03/2022 Employees on parental bereavement leave may also be entitled to statutory parental bereavement pay if they can satisfy certain statutory eligibility criteria. In summary, the employee must: Be in employed by you for a continuous period of at least 26 weeks; Remain in that employment at least until...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Absence and Sickness Pay Leave Family Friendly Rights

Who is entitled to parental bereavement leave under the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/03/2022 On 7 February 2022, the Northern Ireland Assembly passed the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill. It is anticipated that the new legislation will come into effect in April 2022, once the Bill has received Royal Assent and when further details have been set out in the accompanying regulations....
This article is listed under the following topics:
Absence and Sickness Pay Leave Family Friendly Rights