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.

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What is the correct statutory definition of the words “Employer” and “Employee” and why are they important in employment law?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 05/08/2014 The words ‘Employee’ and ‘Employer’ are not regularly defined in Northern Irish employment legislation. However a few pieces of legislation do provide the statutory definition of both terms. As per the Industrial Tribunals (NI) Order 1996, the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and the...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Contracts of Employment Flexible Working

Are agency workers entitled to Paternity Leave/Pay?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/10/2013 In short, no. To qualify for statutory paternity leave and pay, the individual must be an employee as set out in the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002. An employee is defined in the Regulations as “an individual who has entered into or works under (or, where the emplo...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Working Time Flexible Working

If a disabled agency worker requires an adjustment (e.g. a specific type of chair), who is responsible for providing it, agency or hirer?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 08/01/2013 The Disability Discrimination Act extends to those working under “a contract of service or of apprenticeship or a contract personally to do any work”. It also renders it unlawful for a “principal”, in relation to “contract work” to discriminate against a person who is a “disabled contract worker”. ...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Discrimination Flexible Working

Our retail business engages a large number of casual workers on zero hour contracts. However the business does tend to have the same casual staff attending for the same shifts on a weekly basis and then often use the same workers to increase their hours over busy periods such as Christmas. Some “casual staff” have been working these shift patterns for a number of years. I am having a conduct problem with one such employee and am unsure if the statutory disciplinary and dismissal procedures may apply to him. Has he inadvertently become an employee?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/11/2012 A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case in GB gave some useful guidance on when a casual worker may have become an employee under a contract of employment with continuity of service. In Pulse Healthcare Ltd v Carewatch Care Services Ltd 2012 a number of workers all signed “Zero Hours Contract Agre...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Contracts of Employment Working Time Flexible Working

We employ seasonal ‘summer’ workers. If we employ them for successive summers are they covered by unfair dismissal legislation/expectation of summer work under custom and practice?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 07/08/2012 In order to have unfair dismissal rights, the seasonal 'summer' worker must qualify as an employee AND also be able to prove one year of continuous employment. As regards the expectation of summer work under custom and practice, employers should be aware of the GB Employment Appeal Tribunal case of...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Dismissal Contracts of Employment Flexible Working Recruitment and Selection

Could you please set out any special conditions or issues in relation to seasonal workers’ terms and conditions of employment?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/05/2012 A seasonal or fixed-term employee will have the same legal entitlements as permanent employees, but their continuity of service will usually be broken at the end of each season/contract period. This means that the seasonal employee may not have a long enough continuous service for certain employmen...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Contracts of Employment Working Time Flexible Working

If employer allows full-time staff to reduce their working week to, for example, 30 hours per week, how is holiday entitlement calculated, especially if the employee works Monday to Thursday? And what about public holiday entitlement?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 03/01/2012 Part-time employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ statutory leave in the same way as any other worker and although the Working Time Regulations do not define what is meant by a week’s leave, the established view is that this involves the worker being away from work for a week. For example, if a worker...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Working Time Flexible Working

In relation to long term absence where you have had to employ a temporary worker to cover absence, can you request a minimum notice period before the absent employee returns to work?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/12/2011 While there is no legal right to request notice in these situations, you could ask the employee to give you a certain amount of notice of their intention to return. It is best practice, however, that this is discussed as part of your management of the long term absence situation. It is useful and a...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Absence and Sickness Flexible Working

With seasonal working arrangements or other intermittent employment is there a recognised period of time between employment periods that would constitute a break in service. Are there mitigating factors to take into account on this?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 03/08/2010 This question is a good example of a specific follow-on from last month’s more general question on continuous employment. To recap, employment is presumed to be continuous from the contract start date and will generally end on termination. However certain circumstances may bring about a break in co...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Contracts of Employment Flexible Working

Are 'zero hour' contracts lawful & what is the law on casual contracts?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/07/2010 The answer to your first question is, in short, yes. The answer to the second could take a little bit longer! Firstly, zero hours contracts are a type of casual contract and although not legally defined, they have become the day-to-day name for a casual contract under which an employer does not gua...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Contracts of Employment Flexible Working