Payment in Lieu of Untaken Holiday – Is it Legal?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 18/07/2017 "We recently purchased a business via a share sale. The transaction was rushed and little due diligence was carried out before the sale took place. Now that I have reviewed personnel files, I have discovered that employees were being paid in lieu of their annual leave without the employees actually...

How to Respond to a Letter and Claim Form from the Industrial Tribunal

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 20/06/2017 "I am a HR Manager in a Company and have just been passed a letter and Claim Form from the Industrial Tribunal. The Claim Form is from an existing employee. Do I have to respond to this claim and if so, when?" You have 28 days in which to lodge a formal written Response to the employee’s claim. ...

How should we handle mental health issues in the workplace?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 16/05/2017 “I am an HR Manager and have been asked by my Managing Director to review our Sickness Absence policy and procedures, to ensure that they adequately cover mental health issues. In light of the current publicity around mental health issues, what else do I need to consider with respect to employees ...

Discrimination on the Grounds of Gender and Unequal Pay

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 20/03/2017 A female member of staff has complained to me that she believes she is earning less than her male colleagues for doing the same job. She wants me to give her details of their salary and move her pay to the same rate. What should I do? Firstly, you should be careful about disclosing personal infor...

How do I organise rest breaks for staff working extra hours during busy periods?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 22/02/2017 “I am an employer in Northern Ireland’s agriculture industry entering a very busy period for my business. I need my workers to be more available during this time to work longer hours and/or extra shifts. How can I achieve this, without breaching my obligations towards rest periods?” You should be a...

Can we offer a disabled employee lower paid work if deemed unfit to fulfil their role?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 16/01/2017 We have an employee who has a disability and have had him assessed by Occupational Health in relation to his ability to continue to carry out his role and responsibilities. Occupational Health has confirmed he is not fit to carry out those duties. We do, however, have alternative work he could do ...

How do I Handle an Unauthorised Absence?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 20/12/2016 I am an HR Manager and have received an email from an employee who has told me that he will be leaving the country for a few days to attend a family wedding. He did not seek my prior agreement to this request and since the email I have not heard from him, several days have passed. As far as I am co...

Are individuals engaged on a casual basis entitled to statutory rights?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 14/11/2016 I regularly engage individuals on a casual basis to carry out work for my company. Some are now saying that they should have certain rights and payment from me. I have always considered that they are self-employed. How do I handle it? Whether individuals are self-employed, company employees or w...

What documents are discoverable in employment tribunal proceedings?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 11/10/2016 I am an HR manager and our company has received a Notice for Discovery as part of industrial tribunal proceedings from an ex-employee. I have gathered all information relating to the claim, which also includes some of my own personal notes, as well as emails between another manager and me, regardin...

Taking disciplinary action against disabled employees for absence

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 14/09/2016 We have an employee whose sickness absence is poor and we are considering disciplinary action under our Attendance Policy. The employee is disabled. What can we do? In considering disciplinary action against a disabled employee, you should be aware that you may face allegations of discrimination ...