First Tuesday Q&A

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What Issues Should an Employer Consider if an Employee Takes a Second Job?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 01/11/2022 During the cost of living crisis, it is likely employees may ask to take on a second job to manage their finances. There are issues when it comes to having multiple jobs surrounding wellbeing and health and safety concerns for employees. Wellbeing - Financial worries will impact on employees mental...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Contracts of Employment Working Time Policies and Procedures

If an Employee’s Role Within the Same Company Changes From Part-Time to Full-Time Does This Affect the Continuity of Employment?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 02/11/2021 The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 has a set way of calculating continuity which overrides any agreement between the employer and employee. It depends on when the continuous period starts; when the continuous period ends; whether anything happens to break continuity between the sta...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Contracts of Employment Working Time

Do students, who carry out hourly-paid work during their holidays, accrue holiday during the unpaid absences from work?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/07/2021 In the case of a student who carries out hourly-paid work during school/ university vacations (that is, Christmas, Easter and Summer) would their holidays accrue during the unpaid absences from work (i.e. term time)? If the worker remains under a contract during term time, they would continue to a...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Absence and Sickness Contracts of Employment Working Time Pay Leave

If an employee is under both a full-time contract and a second, casual contract with the same employer, are they entitled to holidays under both contracts?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 06/07/2021 As these are two separate contracts, the employee will be entitled to whatever statutory (or contractual) holidays apply under each contract. Therefore, the employee is entitled to receive their pro-rated holiday entitlement under the part-time contract in addition to the full-time entitlement unde...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Contracts of Employment Working Time Pay Leave

Is An Employee Who Is Off On Maternity Leave Permitted To Carry Over Her Accrued But Untaken Annual Leave?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 02/03/2021 An employee who is on maternity leave and therefore cannot use annual leave must be permitted to take her full holiday entitlement outside her maternity leave period. This was confirmed by the European Court of Justice in Merino Gomez v Continental Industrias del Caucho SA (C342/01) [2005] ICR 1040...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Discrimination and Equality Working Time Leave

Can We Ask An Employee On Long-Term Sick Leave To Use Annual Leave?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 02/03/2021 Generally, employers can give notice to employees specifying dates on which their statutory holiday must be taken, in accordance with regulation 18(2) of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016. This is provided that the employee is given twice the amount of notice of the length leave ...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Absence and Sickness Working Time Pay Leave

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

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

Can annual leave be taken during furlough?

Posted in: First Tuesday Q&A NI on 05/05/2020 The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) guidance, as updated on 17 April 2020, confirms that workers can take annual leave during furlough. However, annual leave taken during furlough leave should be paid at the worker’s “normal” rate of remuneration i.e. not the reduced 80% rate under the CJ...
This article is listed under the following topics:
Working Time Coronavirus/Covid-19