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Fixed-term employment contracts and 'less favourable treatment'
In this guide:
- Fixed-term employment contracts
- Rights of fixed-term employees
- Fixed-term employment contracts and the 'equal treatment' principle
- Fixed-term employment contracts and 'less favourable treatment'
- Fixed-term employment benefits
- Redundancy rights of fixed-term employees
- Fixed-term employment contracts and statutory employment rights
- Limiting the use of successive fixed-term employment contracts
- Informing fixed-term employees about permanent vacancies
Rights of fixed-term employees
How to fulfil your legal obligations by granting fixed-term employees the same rights as permanent staff.
Fixed-term employees have the right not to be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees because they are on a fixed-term contract.
This means you must treat fixed-term employees the same as comparable permanent employees unless there are 'objectively justifiable' circumstances for not doing so (ie there is a genuine, necessary, and appropriate business reason).
Therefore they must receive the same or equivalent (pro-rata) pay and conditions, benefits, pension rights, and opportunity to apply for permanent positions within the business.
When fixed-term could become permanent contracts
Under the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations (Northern Ireland), which came into operation on 1 October 2002, employees who have been on a fixed-term contract for four years or longer will usually be legally classed as permanent if their contract is renewed or if they are re-engaged on a new fixed-term contract. The Fixed-term Employees Regulations apply only to 'employees', not to the wider category of 'workers'.
Exemptions to the rule
The only exemptions to the rule above are when employment on a further fixed-term contract is objectively justified to achieve a legitimate business aim or when the period of four years has been lengthened under a collective or workplace agreement.
You also need to make the same tax arrangements for fixed-term employees as for permanent staff.
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Fixed-term employment contracts and the 'equal treatment' principle
Comparing the fixed-term employee with a comparable permanent employee.
Fixed-term employees have the right not to be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees because of their employment status unless the different treatment can be objectively justified.
Comparing employment conditions
To assess whether they are receiving equal treatment, a fixed-term employee can compare their employment conditions to that of a comparable permanent employee. This means someone working for you on an indefinite or an indeterminate employment contract and in the same place, doing the same or similar work. Skills and qualifications are taken into account where relevant to the job.
Where a fixed-term employee does the same work as several permanent employees whose contractual terms are different, the fixed-term employee can select someone to compare themselves to.
The chances of a claim for equal treatment being successful depend on the employee selecting a similar comparator and whether there are objectively justifiable reasons for their being treated differently.
If no comparable permanent employee works in the same place, a fixed-term employee can choose someone working for you at another premises, but not someone working for a different employer.
An employee will not be a comparable permanent employee if his/her employment has ceased.
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Fixed-term employment contracts and 'less favourable treatment'
How to avoid treating fixed-term employees less favourably than their permanent equivalents.
A fixed-term employee has the right not to be treated less favourably as regards the terms of his or her contract. A term-by-term approach is required when considering less favourable treatment in this context.
Less favourable treatment happens when a fixed-term employee does not receive conditions or benefits granted to a comparable permanent employee - or receives or is offered a benefit on less favourable terms.
Examples of less favourable treatment would include not being given a bonus or receiving fewer paid holidays than comparable permanent employees.
If you give training to permanent employees, you must not deny fixed-term employees access to it unless it can be objectively justified. In addition, permanent staff must not enjoy preferential treatment for promotion or redundancy, unless objectively justifiable.
The period of service qualifications relating to particular conditions of employment must be the same for fixed-term employees as for permanent employees except where different length of service qualifications is justified on objective grounds.
Written statement of employment
If a fixed-term employee feels less favourably treated because of their employment status or believes their rights have been infringed, they can request a written statement of employment from you detailing the reasons. You must produce this within 21 days of the request. This is your opportunity to clarify why a fixed-term employee receives particular treatment. The intention is not to allow fixed-term employees to find out what their colleagues are receiving.
If you do not believe less favourable treatment has been given, or you have objective justification for it, the statement should say so. If a package approach is being used, the statement should say that this is why different treatment is occurring with respect to one or more benefits. The statement might be used at an industrial tribunal hearing concerning a complaint under the regulations.
Although a failure to give a written statement of employment has no direct legal effect in itself, the statement is admissible in any proceedings under the regulations. A failure to provide one allows a tribunal to draw any inference it considers just and equitable (including an inference that you are in breach of the regulations) if it appears that the employer deliberately and without reasonable excuse omitted to provide a statement, or that the written statement is evasive or equivocal. A carefully drafted written statement of employment can avoid such a possibility and should be provided.
What is objective justification?
Less favourable treatment will be justified on objective grounds if you can show that it is necessary and appropriate to achieve a legitimate and genuine business objective.
Objective justification may be a matter of degree. You should consider offering fixed-term employees certain benefits (eg loans, clothing allowances, etc) on a pro-rata basis. Sometimes, the cost to you of offering certain benefits to a fixed-term employee may be disproportionate to the benefit the employee would receive. This may objectively justify different treatment.
An example of this may be where a fixed-term employee is on a contract of three months and a comparator has a company car. You may decide not to offer the car if the cost of doing so is high and the need of the business for your employee to travel can be met in some other way.
Less favourable treatment in relation to particular contractual terms is justified where the fixed-term employee's overall package of terms and conditions is no less favourable than the comparable permanent employee's overall package.
How do employers objectively justify different conditions?
You can argue that there is objective justification for treating the fixed-term employee differently.
Alternatively, you may prove that the value of the fixed-term employee's overall terms and conditions at least equal the value of those of the comparable permanent employee.
You will need to consider whether less favourable treatment is objectively justified on a case-by-case basis, either comparing term-by-term or comparing a package of terms and conditions.
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Fixed-term employment benefits
Employment benefits that can be offered to fixed-term employees.
Some employment benefits such as season ticket loans, health insurance or staff discounts can be offered on an annual basis or over a specified period. Where a fixed-term employee is not expected to work for this period, you might offer it in proportion to the contract duration ('pro-rata').
For example, if the contract is for six months, the employee should receive half of an annual benefit. If the contract is for four months, they should receive one-third.
If this is not possible because the cost to you would outweigh the benefit to the employee, you can claim objective justification for not offering the benefit.
You need to consider whether less favourable treatment is objectively justified on a case-by-case basis. See fixed-term contracts and 'less favourable treatment'.
Access to occupational pension schemes
You must offer fixed-term employees access to occupational pension schemes on the same basis as permanent staff unless different treatment is objectively justified.
For example, if a pension scheme has been closed to new permanent employees, new fixed-term employees need not be offered access, even if their permanent comparator has access. It is important that the point at which employees have joined a company in order to have been offered access to the scheme is the same for fixed-term as for permanent employees unless a difference is objectively justified.
You do not need to offer special alternative benefits (eg contributions to a private pension scheme) to fixed-term employees who decide not to join a pension scheme unless this option is offered to comparable permanent employees.
In certain situations, it may not be necessary to offer all fixed-term employees access to occupational pension schemes. For example, where an employee is on a fixed-term contract that is shorter than the vesting period for a pension scheme, or you offer the employee a salary increase equivalent to employer pension contributions paid to permanent staff, you may be able to justify excluding them from the scheme. See know your legal obligations on pensions.
In addition, the Pensions (No.2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 introduced obligations on employers to provide access to and contribute towards, a workplace pension scheme for eligible employees.
Every employer must enrol workers into a workplace pension if they meet certain criteria. See automatic enrolment into a workplace pension.
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Redundancy rights of fixed-term employees
Employer obligations to grant fixed-term employees their legal redundancy rights.
Fixed-term employees have a right to statutory redundancy pay if they have been continuously employed for two years or more. Redundancy is defined in statute and the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) can provide you with information and advice on redundancy.
When a fixed-term contract terminates and is not renewed, the employee is dismissed. The reason for this dismissal will not always be redundancy - this will depend on whether you are laying off employees of the type that the fixed-term employee is, or whether there is some other reason for not renewing the contract (for example, the fixed-term employee was covering for an absent member of permanent staff).
Fixed-term employees cannot be excluded from the statutory redundancy payments scheme. However, they can be excluded from contractual schemes if this is objectively justified.
Fixed-term employees should receive the same level of redundancy payments as permanent employees unless different treatment is objectively justified.
You also need to consider whether fixed-term employees are being treated fairly in relation to other elements of redundancy packages, eg have the same access to specialist job search services as comparable permanent employees. Different treatment may be objectively justified and it is more likely to be so if the fixed-term employee did not expect their employment to last longer than the term of their first contract.
Selection for redundancy
Fixed-term employees cannot be selected for redundancy simply because of their employment status. Where fixed-term employees have been brought in to complete a particular task or as cover over a peak period, you can objectively justify selecting them for redundancy at the end of their contracts.
Length of service (Last In First Out) should never be used as sole/main criteria in a redundancy situation as it may indirectly discriminate on the grounds of age (and potentially religion, where an employer has been taking positive action to address an underrepresentation from one community in their workforce). It can be used in conjunction with other criteria or perhaps applied in tie-break situations. See redundancy selection: non compulsory and redundancy selection: compulsory.
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Fixed-term employment contracts and statutory employment rights
Handle fixed-term redundancies legally when tasks or events are completed.
If an employment contract terminates when a task is completed or an event occurs or does not occur, this is legally classified as dismissal.
This gives fixed-term employees the same statutory rights as permanent employees or others on different fixed-term contracts, including the right:
- not to be unfairly dismissed (after one year's continuous employment)
- to a written statement of reasons for dismissal (after one year)
- to statutory redundancy payments (after two years)
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Limiting the use of successive fixed-term employment contracts
When renewed fixed-term employment contracts become permanent.
If a fixed-term employee has their employment contract renewed or if they are re-engaged on a new fixed-term employment contract when they already have a period of four or more years of continuous employment, the renewal or new contract takes effect as a permanent contract (unless employment on a fixed-term contract was objectively justified or the period of four years has been lengthened under a collective or workplace agreement).
If however a fixed-term employee has had their contract renewed at least once before the four-year period has elapsed, the employee's contract will become permanent after they have completed a total of four years' service. The only exceptions are when employment on a fixed-term contract can be objectively justified, or if the period of four years has been lengthened under a collective or workplace agreement.
Continuous employment usually means employment without a break, although breaks for strike action and time spent out of work appealing against unfair dismissal (if the employee is subsequently reinstated) will not break continuity. The interval between contracts that result in continuous service being broken is determined by case law and statute and varies according to the circumstances.
Renewing or extending fixed-term employment contracts
If an employee has a fixed-term contract renewed before or extended beyond the four-year statutory limit (or beyond the limit agreed in any applicable collective or workplace agreement), the contract will be regarded as one of indefinite duration.
An employee whose employment contract is renewed as a fixed-term contract, or re-engaged under a fixed-term contract, after the four-year period has the right to ask you in writing for a written statement of employment to confirm that they are now a permanent employee. You must produce the written statement of employment within 21 days and if you maintain that the employee is still fixed-term, you must explain the reasons why. The statement may be used at an industrial tribunal hearing if your employee decides to make a claim. See the written statement.
Once the employee's contract is regarded as permanent, statutory minimum notice periods apply unless longer periods are contractually agreed.
The limitation on successive fixed-term employment contracts will apply only where the employee has been continuously employed for the whole period. An employee may be continuously employed even where there is a gap between successive contracts. See continuous employment and employee rights.
Fixed-term contract renewal may be justified on objective grounds if it is necessary and appropriate to achieve a legitimate objective, for example, a genuine business objective.
Collective and workplace agreements
Such agreements provide an alternative scheme for preventing abuses of fixed-term employment contracts and can be made to vary the limit on the duration of successive fixed-term contracts upwards or downwards, or to limit the use of successive fixed-term contracts by applying one or more of the following:
- a limit on the total duration of successive fixed-term employment contracts
- a limit on the number of successive fixed-term employment contracts
- a list of permissible objective reasons justifying renewals of fixed-term employment contracts
You and your employees may agree on reasons for renewing fixed-term contracts, including the specific needs of particular professions, for example, professional sport and theatre. It is important that these reasons do not permit the abuse of successive fixed-term contracts.
A collective agreement is made between an employer or association/group of employers and trade union representatives. A workforce agreement is made between representatives of a workforce and an employer.
Workforce agreements can apply only to groups of employees whose terms and conditions of employment are not covered by a collective agreement. Where a union is recognised to negotiate terms and conditions of employment any variations must be made through a collective agreement.
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Informing fixed-term employees about permanent vacancies
Fulfil your legal obligations to fixed-term employees when permanent positions arise.
You must inform fixed-term employees of permanent vacancies in your organisation, and give them the same opportunity as others to apply for such roles.
You should inform fixed-term and permanent employees of such vacancies at the same time and in the same way. Displaying a vacancy notice where all employees can see it or emailing the vacancy to all staff members will usually enable you to do this effectively.
Industrial Tribunals
Finally, under the regulations, a fixed-term employee may present a claim to an Industrial Tribunal alleging that they have not been informed of available vacancies or that they have suffered a detriment, or less favourable treatment. If you receive such a complaint you can contact the Labour Relations Agency (LRA). Its conciliation service applies to such claims. See details of the LRA's dispute resolution services.
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Informing fixed-term employees about permanent vacancies
In this guide:
- Fixed-term employment contracts
- Rights of fixed-term employees
- Fixed-term employment contracts and the 'equal treatment' principle
- Fixed-term employment contracts and 'less favourable treatment'
- Fixed-term employment benefits
- Redundancy rights of fixed-term employees
- Fixed-term employment contracts and statutory employment rights
- Limiting the use of successive fixed-term employment contracts
- Informing fixed-term employees about permanent vacancies
Rights of fixed-term employees
How to fulfil your legal obligations by granting fixed-term employees the same rights as permanent staff.
Fixed-term employees have the right not to be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees because they are on a fixed-term contract.
This means you must treat fixed-term employees the same as comparable permanent employees unless there are 'objectively justifiable' circumstances for not doing so (ie there is a genuine, necessary, and appropriate business reason).
Therefore they must receive the same or equivalent (pro-rata) pay and conditions, benefits, pension rights, and opportunity to apply for permanent positions within the business.
When fixed-term could become permanent contracts
Under the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations (Northern Ireland), which came into operation on 1 October 2002, employees who have been on a fixed-term contract for four years or longer will usually be legally classed as permanent if their contract is renewed or if they are re-engaged on a new fixed-term contract. The Fixed-term Employees Regulations apply only to 'employees', not to the wider category of 'workers'.
Exemptions to the rule
The only exemptions to the rule above are when employment on a further fixed-term contract is objectively justified to achieve a legitimate business aim or when the period of four years has been lengthened under a collective or workplace agreement.
You also need to make the same tax arrangements for fixed-term employees as for permanent staff.
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Fixed-term employment contracts and the 'equal treatment' principle
Comparing the fixed-term employee with a comparable permanent employee.
Fixed-term employees have the right not to be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees because of their employment status unless the different treatment can be objectively justified.
Comparing employment conditions
To assess whether they are receiving equal treatment, a fixed-term employee can compare their employment conditions to that of a comparable permanent employee. This means someone working for you on an indefinite or an indeterminate employment contract and in the same place, doing the same or similar work. Skills and qualifications are taken into account where relevant to the job.
Where a fixed-term employee does the same work as several permanent employees whose contractual terms are different, the fixed-term employee can select someone to compare themselves to.
The chances of a claim for equal treatment being successful depend on the employee selecting a similar comparator and whether there are objectively justifiable reasons for their being treated differently.
If no comparable permanent employee works in the same place, a fixed-term employee can choose someone working for you at another premises, but not someone working for a different employer.
An employee will not be a comparable permanent employee if his/her employment has ceased.
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Fixed-term employment contracts and 'less favourable treatment'
How to avoid treating fixed-term employees less favourably than their permanent equivalents.
A fixed-term employee has the right not to be treated less favourably as regards the terms of his or her contract. A term-by-term approach is required when considering less favourable treatment in this context.
Less favourable treatment happens when a fixed-term employee does not receive conditions or benefits granted to a comparable permanent employee - or receives or is offered a benefit on less favourable terms.
Examples of less favourable treatment would include not being given a bonus or receiving fewer paid holidays than comparable permanent employees.
If you give training to permanent employees, you must not deny fixed-term employees access to it unless it can be objectively justified. In addition, permanent staff must not enjoy preferential treatment for promotion or redundancy, unless objectively justifiable.
The period of service qualifications relating to particular conditions of employment must be the same for fixed-term employees as for permanent employees except where different length of service qualifications is justified on objective grounds.
Written statement of employment
If a fixed-term employee feels less favourably treated because of their employment status or believes their rights have been infringed, they can request a written statement of employment from you detailing the reasons. You must produce this within 21 days of the request. This is your opportunity to clarify why a fixed-term employee receives particular treatment. The intention is not to allow fixed-term employees to find out what their colleagues are receiving.
If you do not believe less favourable treatment has been given, or you have objective justification for it, the statement should say so. If a package approach is being used, the statement should say that this is why different treatment is occurring with respect to one or more benefits. The statement might be used at an industrial tribunal hearing concerning a complaint under the regulations.
Although a failure to give a written statement of employment has no direct legal effect in itself, the statement is admissible in any proceedings under the regulations. A failure to provide one allows a tribunal to draw any inference it considers just and equitable (including an inference that you are in breach of the regulations) if it appears that the employer deliberately and without reasonable excuse omitted to provide a statement, or that the written statement is evasive or equivocal. A carefully drafted written statement of employment can avoid such a possibility and should be provided.
What is objective justification?
Less favourable treatment will be justified on objective grounds if you can show that it is necessary and appropriate to achieve a legitimate and genuine business objective.
Objective justification may be a matter of degree. You should consider offering fixed-term employees certain benefits (eg loans, clothing allowances, etc) on a pro-rata basis. Sometimes, the cost to you of offering certain benefits to a fixed-term employee may be disproportionate to the benefit the employee would receive. This may objectively justify different treatment.
An example of this may be where a fixed-term employee is on a contract of three months and a comparator has a company car. You may decide not to offer the car if the cost of doing so is high and the need of the business for your employee to travel can be met in some other way.
Less favourable treatment in relation to particular contractual terms is justified where the fixed-term employee's overall package of terms and conditions is no less favourable than the comparable permanent employee's overall package.
How do employers objectively justify different conditions?
You can argue that there is objective justification for treating the fixed-term employee differently.
Alternatively, you may prove that the value of the fixed-term employee's overall terms and conditions at least equal the value of those of the comparable permanent employee.
You will need to consider whether less favourable treatment is objectively justified on a case-by-case basis, either comparing term-by-term or comparing a package of terms and conditions.
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Fixed-term employment benefits
Employment benefits that can be offered to fixed-term employees.
Some employment benefits such as season ticket loans, health insurance or staff discounts can be offered on an annual basis or over a specified period. Where a fixed-term employee is not expected to work for this period, you might offer it in proportion to the contract duration ('pro-rata').
For example, if the contract is for six months, the employee should receive half of an annual benefit. If the contract is for four months, they should receive one-third.
If this is not possible because the cost to you would outweigh the benefit to the employee, you can claim objective justification for not offering the benefit.
You need to consider whether less favourable treatment is objectively justified on a case-by-case basis. See fixed-term contracts and 'less favourable treatment'.
Access to occupational pension schemes
You must offer fixed-term employees access to occupational pension schemes on the same basis as permanent staff unless different treatment is objectively justified.
For example, if a pension scheme has been closed to new permanent employees, new fixed-term employees need not be offered access, even if their permanent comparator has access. It is important that the point at which employees have joined a company in order to have been offered access to the scheme is the same for fixed-term as for permanent employees unless a difference is objectively justified.
You do not need to offer special alternative benefits (eg contributions to a private pension scheme) to fixed-term employees who decide not to join a pension scheme unless this option is offered to comparable permanent employees.
In certain situations, it may not be necessary to offer all fixed-term employees access to occupational pension schemes. For example, where an employee is on a fixed-term contract that is shorter than the vesting period for a pension scheme, or you offer the employee a salary increase equivalent to employer pension contributions paid to permanent staff, you may be able to justify excluding them from the scheme. See know your legal obligations on pensions.
In addition, the Pensions (No.2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 introduced obligations on employers to provide access to and contribute towards, a workplace pension scheme for eligible employees.
Every employer must enrol workers into a workplace pension if they meet certain criteria. See automatic enrolment into a workplace pension.
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Redundancy rights of fixed-term employees
Employer obligations to grant fixed-term employees their legal redundancy rights.
Fixed-term employees have a right to statutory redundancy pay if they have been continuously employed for two years or more. Redundancy is defined in statute and the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) can provide you with information and advice on redundancy.
When a fixed-term contract terminates and is not renewed, the employee is dismissed. The reason for this dismissal will not always be redundancy - this will depend on whether you are laying off employees of the type that the fixed-term employee is, or whether there is some other reason for not renewing the contract (for example, the fixed-term employee was covering for an absent member of permanent staff).
Fixed-term employees cannot be excluded from the statutory redundancy payments scheme. However, they can be excluded from contractual schemes if this is objectively justified.
Fixed-term employees should receive the same level of redundancy payments as permanent employees unless different treatment is objectively justified.
You also need to consider whether fixed-term employees are being treated fairly in relation to other elements of redundancy packages, eg have the same access to specialist job search services as comparable permanent employees. Different treatment may be objectively justified and it is more likely to be so if the fixed-term employee did not expect their employment to last longer than the term of their first contract.
Selection for redundancy
Fixed-term employees cannot be selected for redundancy simply because of their employment status. Where fixed-term employees have been brought in to complete a particular task or as cover over a peak period, you can objectively justify selecting them for redundancy at the end of their contracts.
Length of service (Last In First Out) should never be used as sole/main criteria in a redundancy situation as it may indirectly discriminate on the grounds of age (and potentially religion, where an employer has been taking positive action to address an underrepresentation from one community in their workforce). It can be used in conjunction with other criteria or perhaps applied in tie-break situations. See redundancy selection: non compulsory and redundancy selection: compulsory.
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Fixed-term employment contracts and statutory employment rights
Handle fixed-term redundancies legally when tasks or events are completed.
If an employment contract terminates when a task is completed or an event occurs or does not occur, this is legally classified as dismissal.
This gives fixed-term employees the same statutory rights as permanent employees or others on different fixed-term contracts, including the right:
- not to be unfairly dismissed (after one year's continuous employment)
- to a written statement of reasons for dismissal (after one year)
- to statutory redundancy payments (after two years)
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Limiting the use of successive fixed-term employment contracts
When renewed fixed-term employment contracts become permanent.
If a fixed-term employee has their employment contract renewed or if they are re-engaged on a new fixed-term employment contract when they already have a period of four or more years of continuous employment, the renewal or new contract takes effect as a permanent contract (unless employment on a fixed-term contract was objectively justified or the period of four years has been lengthened under a collective or workplace agreement).
If however a fixed-term employee has had their contract renewed at least once before the four-year period has elapsed, the employee's contract will become permanent after they have completed a total of four years' service. The only exceptions are when employment on a fixed-term contract can be objectively justified, or if the period of four years has been lengthened under a collective or workplace agreement.
Continuous employment usually means employment without a break, although breaks for strike action and time spent out of work appealing against unfair dismissal (if the employee is subsequently reinstated) will not break continuity. The interval between contracts that result in continuous service being broken is determined by case law and statute and varies according to the circumstances.
Renewing or extending fixed-term employment contracts
If an employee has a fixed-term contract renewed before or extended beyond the four-year statutory limit (or beyond the limit agreed in any applicable collective or workplace agreement), the contract will be regarded as one of indefinite duration.
An employee whose employment contract is renewed as a fixed-term contract, or re-engaged under a fixed-term contract, after the four-year period has the right to ask you in writing for a written statement of employment to confirm that they are now a permanent employee. You must produce the written statement of employment within 21 days and if you maintain that the employee is still fixed-term, you must explain the reasons why. The statement may be used at an industrial tribunal hearing if your employee decides to make a claim. See the written statement.
Once the employee's contract is regarded as permanent, statutory minimum notice periods apply unless longer periods are contractually agreed.
The limitation on successive fixed-term employment contracts will apply only where the employee has been continuously employed for the whole period. An employee may be continuously employed even where there is a gap between successive contracts. See continuous employment and employee rights.
Fixed-term contract renewal may be justified on objective grounds if it is necessary and appropriate to achieve a legitimate objective, for example, a genuine business objective.
Collective and workplace agreements
Such agreements provide an alternative scheme for preventing abuses of fixed-term employment contracts and can be made to vary the limit on the duration of successive fixed-term contracts upwards or downwards, or to limit the use of successive fixed-term contracts by applying one or more of the following:
- a limit on the total duration of successive fixed-term employment contracts
- a limit on the number of successive fixed-term employment contracts
- a list of permissible objective reasons justifying renewals of fixed-term employment contracts
You and your employees may agree on reasons for renewing fixed-term contracts, including the specific needs of particular professions, for example, professional sport and theatre. It is important that these reasons do not permit the abuse of successive fixed-term contracts.
A collective agreement is made between an employer or association/group of employers and trade union representatives. A workforce agreement is made between representatives of a workforce and an employer.
Workforce agreements can apply only to groups of employees whose terms and conditions of employment are not covered by a collective agreement. Where a union is recognised to negotiate terms and conditions of employment any variations must be made through a collective agreement.
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Informing fixed-term employees about permanent vacancies
Fulfil your legal obligations to fixed-term employees when permanent positions arise.
You must inform fixed-term employees of permanent vacancies in your organisation, and give them the same opportunity as others to apply for such roles.
You should inform fixed-term and permanent employees of such vacancies at the same time and in the same way. Displaying a vacancy notice where all employees can see it or emailing the vacancy to all staff members will usually enable you to do this effectively.
Industrial Tribunals
Finally, under the regulations, a fixed-term employee may present a claim to an Industrial Tribunal alleging that they have not been informed of available vacancies or that they have suffered a detriment, or less favourable treatment. If you receive such a complaint you can contact the Labour Relations Agency (LRA). Its conciliation service applies to such claims. See details of the LRA's dispute resolution services.
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ICE Regulations: pre-existing agreements and fall-back provisions
In this guide:
- Inform and consult your employees
- Advantages of good employee communication
- Legal requirements for communicating with employees
- Consulting your employees
- The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005
- ICE Regulations: pre-existing agreements and fall-back provisions
- ICE Regulations: enforcement, protections and confidential information
- Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees (TICE) Regulations 1999
- European Works Councils
- Informing and consulting employees - best practice
- How to achieve good communication between employer and employees
- Examples of good information and consultation in practice
- Advantages of communications and consultation training in successful business
Advantages of good employee communication
Benefits of communicating effectively with your employees.
Communicating with your employees is central to managing your workforce. Poor communication can result in misunderstandings and mistrust.
Benefits of good staff communication
Introducing proper procedures for informing and consulting with your employees can take time and money but you will benefit from improved products, productivity, and competitiveness.
Other benefits of effective consultation and information-sharing include:
- improved employee commitment and job satisfaction, particularly if employees understand what the business is trying to achieve and the effect of their contribution
- increased morale leading to lower turnover of employees and reduced recruitment and training costs
- better employee performance, if they understand targets and deadlines and receive proper feedback
- provision of accurate information or guidance, which helps avoid misunderstandings, eg on health and safety policies, business performance, staff changes, and job structures
- improved management decision-making, due in part to feedback from employees
- improved management/employee relations
- improved exchange of ideas
- consistent approach and strategy across the business
If employees are given inadequate or unclear instructions, they could act in breach of regulations without meaning to. Lack of basic information can also be a breach of workers' rights. See legal requirements for communicating with employees.
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Legal requirements for communicating with employees
Understand your legal requirements for communicating with employees.
As an employer, you are required to inform and consult employees in certain circumstances. See consulting your employees.
You must inform employees of:
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The main terms and conditions of employment in written form - see the employment contract. This must be provided within two months of an employee commencing employment.
- Any changes in the terms and conditions of employment.
- The reason in writing for dismissing them (for employees with 12 or more months' service). This is only necessary if they request it - unless they are a woman who is dismissed while pregnant or on maternity leave, or statutory adoption leave when in these cases 12 months of service is not required. It can be wise to provide this even to employees who haven't completed 12 months of employment as this clarity of communication can avoid potential misunderstandings and unnecessary claims. Such consideration, even though is not required, is good practice.
- Certain matters when your business is involved, eg in the transfer of an undertaking - see responsibilities to employees if you buy or sell a business.
Collective bargaining
You must give recognised trade unions the information they require for collective bargaining. For more information on recognising trade unions and collective bargaining, see recognising and derecognising a trade union.
Read the Labour Rrelations Agency's guidance on disclosure of information to trade unions for collective bargaining purposes.
You are also required by law to:
- provide employees with an itemised pay slip whenever you pay them
- communicate in writing if asking shop workers or betting workers in Northern Ireland to work on a Sunday - see Sunday working and night working
- consult your employees or their representatives when considering collective redundancies, business transfer or changes to pensions
Regulations give employees of businesses and organisations employing 50 or more employees the right to be informed and consulted on issues affecting them and the business they work for. See legal requirements for informing and consulting employees.
Smaller employers should agree and create formal procedures for informing and consulting with employees, in the interests of good employment relations. See informing and consulting - ways and means and examples of good information and consultation in practice.
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Consulting your employees
Consultation that is required by law and voluntary consultation.
Consultation involves managers and business owners seeking and taking into account the views of employees before making a decision. You are required by law to consult with employees, their representatives, or recognised trade unions on:
- health and safety issues
- changes to the contract of employment
- redundancies
- undertakings or transfers, ie the business is to be sold or part of it is to be contracted out, or the contractor is to be replaced by another
- changes to pension schemes
- training policies, progress, and plans - if the Industrial Court has imposed a bargaining method in the statutory trade union recognition process - see recognising and derecognising a trade union
You must use the appropriate consultation method depending on the circumstances, eg through individual employee consultation, employee representatives, joint consultative committees/works councils, joint working parties, or trade unions/collective bargaining units.
If your business or organisation employs more than 50 employees, your employees can require that you negotiate arrangements to inform or consult them on issues that may affect them and the business. See legal requirements for informing and consulting employees.
Voluntary consultation
Your business may benefit from consulting employees on a regular basis and making staff aware of ways they can contribute ideas and raise concerns. You do not need to have complex structures for consultation - often ad hoc groups can work better. See legal requirements for consulting and informing employees.
For effective consultation, you should consider:
- seeking and considering the views of affected employees
- explaining final decisions - particularly when employees' views are rejected
- giving credit and recognition to those who provide information which improves a decision
- ensuring that the issues for consultation are relevant to the group of employees discussing them
- making the outcome of the meeting or decisions available to everyone
Effective consultation can help avoid minor issues and petty grievances. It is also good for employee morale and their role commitment and dedication to the business aims.
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The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005
How the ICE Regulations work, including pre-existing agreements and the fall-back provisions.
Under the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005, if you have 50 or more employees, your employees can request that you set up arrangements to inform and consult them. When a valid employee request is made, you are obliged to negotiate the details of an information and consultation (I&C) agreement with representatives of your employees, unless there is a valid pre-existing agreement in place and you have held a ballot for which employees have supported the pre-existing agreement.
For more information, see legal requirements for communicating with employees.
What is a valid employee request?
If 10% of your employees request that you set up an I&C agreement, you are obliged to do so. That 10% is subject to a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 2,500 employees.
To calculate the size of your workforce, you should calculate the average number of employees in your business over the past 12 months. You can count part-time employees working under a contract of 75 hours or less a month as half of one employee for this calculation.
For an employee request to be valid, it must:
- be in writing
- be dated
- state the names of the employees making the request
If your employees wish to remain anonymous, they may submit a request to the Industrial Court who will inform you that a valid request has been received.
It is possible for a valid request to be made up of a number of requests from different employees over a rolling six-month period - if this achieves the 10% threshold.
Negotiating an I&C agreement
If you receive a valid employee request, you will need to make arrangements to begin negotiating an I&C agreement as soon as is reasonably practicable. You will need to arrange for your employees to elect or appoint a body of representatives to negotiate the agreement with you.
The names of the negotiating representatives must be set out in writing once this has been done.
You will have six months to negotiate the agreement, starting three months from the date that you received the employee request. If you and the employees' representatives agree, you can extend this period indefinitely.
A negotiated agreement must cover all of the employees in the undertaking, so it is advisable to word the agreement in such a way that new employees would be automatically covered. It is also advisable to include a provision stating how a restructuring will be dealt with, for example in terms of any changes to the number and identity of employee representatives.
If you fail to reach an agreement, or do not start negotiations, the fall-back provisions will apply. For more information, see ICE Regulations: pre-existing agreements and fall-back provisions.
You can decide, in agreement with your employees' representatives, the terms of a negotiated agreement. It should set out what you will discuss, when you will discuss it, and how often the discussion will take place. The areas on which you inform and consult are for you and your employees' representatives to agree on.
You can also agree with your employees' representatives whether I&C will take place through employee representatives, directly with your workforce, or with both. If you opt to use representatives, then you should make provision for your employees to elect or appoint them. They do not have to be the same representatives as those who negotiated the agreement. Whilst trade union representatives do not have any special rights to act as an I&C representative, your employees may decide to elect or appoint a trade union representative as an I&C representative.
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ICE Regulations: pre-existing agreements and fall-back provisions
How pre-existing consultation agreements and fall-back provisions affect I&C agreements.
Under the ICE Regulations your employees have the right to request that you create an information and consultation (I&C) agreement. If you already have an I&C agreement in place, you may not need to negotiate a new one. A pre-existing agreement (PEA) may cover more than one undertaking or may have different provisions for different parts of your workforce, or be made up of several different agreements.
Pre-existing agreements
To be valid, a PEA must:
- be in writing
- cover all the employees in the undertaking
- set out how the employer will inform and consult the employees or their representatives
- be approved by the employees
If you have a PEA but 40% or more of your workforce has put in a valid request, you must negotiate a new agreement. However, if the number of employees making the request is 10% or more of the workforce but less than 40%, you can ballot the workforce to decide whether it endorses the request for a new agreement.
If you intend to hold a ballot you must inform your employees of this in writing. You must then wait 21 days before you hold the ballot to allow your employees to challenge the validity of the PEA.
If a ballot is held and 40% of the workforce, and a majority of those who vote, endorse the employee request, you must negotiate a new agreement. Where less than 40% of the workforce, or a minority of those voting, endorses the employee request, you do not have to negotiate a new agreement.
If your employees do not support the request for a new agreement then they cannot put in another request for three years.
Fall-back provisions
If you do not make the necessary arrangements to negotiate an I&C agreement, or negotiations fail, an agreement will be set up according to the standard 'fall-back' provisions. These are set out in the regulations and result in a more rigid and standardised agreement.
You have up to six months after negotiations have failed to arrange the election of I&C representatives. Under the fall-back provisions, you must arrange for the election of one representative per 50 employees or part thereof, with a minimum of two representatives and a maximum of 25.
Under the fall-back provisions, you must inform and consult the representatives on issues as follows:
- inform on the recent and probable development of the organisation's activities and economic situation
- inform and consult on the situation, structure, and probable development of employment within the organisation and, in particular, on any anticipatory measures envisaged where there is a threat to employment
- inform and consult with a view to reaching an agreement on decisions likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation or contractual relations
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ICE Regulations: enforcement, protections and confidential information
Enforcement mechanisms in the ICE Regulations.
You and your employees are subject to a number of rights and responsibilities under the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations. The Industrial Court is responsible for ensuring that most of these are adhered to.
Enforcement of negotiated agreements and the fall-back provisions
You can be penalised if there is no negotiated agreement by the end of the required six-month negotiating period, and no ballot has been arranged to elect information and consultation (I&C) representatives.
If you fail to abide by the terms of a negotiated I&C agreement or the fall-back provisions, your employees or their representatives can raise a complaint with the Industrial Court. If the Industrial Court upholds the complaint they may issue a compliance notice that will set out the steps you must take in order to meet your obligations and the date by which you must take them.
If the Industrial Court does find that you have not adhered to the terms of a negotiated agreement or the fall-back provisions, then your employees or their representatives may be able to apply to the High Court to request that they make you pay a penalty of up to £75,000. The level of the penalty is based on the severity and impact of the failure.
Enforcement of pre-existing agreements (PEAs)
PEAs are only enforceable by measures that are included in the PEA itself. The Industrial Court has no authority to hear complaints that a party has not adhered to the terms of a PEA.
Confidential information
If you have a negotiated agreement or you are subject to the fall-back provisions, then you should try to share as much information as possible with your employees or their representatives. However, you can justifiably restrict or withhold certain information on the grounds that if it came out, it could harm your business.
If you withhold a piece of information that your employees believe they should be allowed to see, they can appeal to the Industrial Court which will judge whether you are right to withhold it.
Rights and protections for representatives and employees
Your employees who act as representatives either during negotiations or as part of an I&C agreement have the right to take reasonable paid time off to fulfil their duties. You cannot dismiss or subject to detriment any of your employees as a result of their involvement in I&C activity unless they are found to be passing on confidential information. If you do not respect your employees' rights, they may be able to take you to an industrial tribunal.
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Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees (TICE) Regulations 1999
The TICE Regulations apply to multinational businesses operating in the European Economic Area.
The Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees (TICE) Regulations apply to multinational businesses operating in the European Economic Area. They established the procedures to set up a European Works Council (EWC) to inform and consult on issues that concern the company as a whole. The EWC is made up of representatives from all European member states in which the company has operations.
European Works Council
To set up an EWC, a request must be made in writing by at least 100 of your employees or their representatives in two or more member states. Alternatively, management can decide to set one up on its own initiative.
A special negotiating body (a body comprised of employee representatives) must be set up to negotiate the terms of the EWC agreement with management. The EWC must be set up in accordance with the 'statutory model', if:
- negotiations do not start within six months of receiving a request, or if the parties fail to reach an agreement within three years following the commencement of negotiations
- you refuse to negotiate within six months of receiving an agreement request, or if you fail to come to an agreement within three years
For more details, see European Works Councils.
You must also inform and consult your employees:
- where you are proposing 20 or more redundancies in a 90-day period
- if you are planning on selling your business or buying a new one
- if you are planning certain changes to an occupational or personal pension scheme
Changes as a result of the UK's exit from the EU
Following the UK's withdrawal from the EU the government has amended the TICE regulations so that:
- no new requests to set up an EWC or Information and Consultation procedure can be made by people employed in the UK
- provisions relevant to the ongoing operation of existing EWCs will remain in force
- requests for information or to establish EWCs or Information and Consultation procedures made but not completed before 1 January 2021 will be allowed to complete
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European Works Councils
Information and consultation in multinational companies through European Works Councils.
If your business is part of a multinational organisation that operates in at least two countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), you may be subject to the legislation on transnational information and consultation (I&C).
This gives employees in multinational undertakings with at least 1,000 employees the right to be represented on a European Works Council (EWC).
The EEA is made up of the 27 European Union member states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
People employed in the UK are no longer able to ask their employer to set up an EWC following the UK's exit from the EU. However, if a request to set up an EWC was submitted before 1 January 2021, it will be allowed to complete.
The current representative still may be able to be involved with your business's EWC following the UK's exit from the EU if your business agrees. The government will make sure the enforcement framework, rights, and protections for employees in UK EWCs are still available as far as possible. It is up to your company to decide if they want to include representatives from the UK. If they do, they will still be entitled to paid time off to carry out their role. See participating in a European Works Council.
An EWC is an I&C forum that is designed to allow employees in different EEA nations to be informed and consulted about transnational issues that affect their employer.
Some large multinational organisations have set up EWCs following a request from their employees. However, businesses can start the process of negotiating an EWC agreement themselves.
The transnational I&C legislation applies differently to EWCs:
- established before 15 December 1999
- established on or after 15 December 1999 and where the agreement was signed or revised in the two years before 5 June 2011
- established between 16 December 1999 and 5 June 2011 that have not been revised in the two years before 5 June 2011
- that are yet to be established or were established on or after 5 June 2011
Transnational I&C requirements
If your business has 1,000 or more employees, and has at least 150 employees in each of two or more EEA states, your employees can request that an EWC be set up. For a request to be valid, it must be:
- made by either at least 100 employees in at least two undertakings in two or more EEA countries, or representatives representing that many employees
- in writing and dated
- sent to your business' central or local management
Agency workers do not count towards the number of people in the business in which they are placed. However, they do count towards the number of people employed by the employment agency business providing them.
Once you have received a valid request, you must make the necessary arrangements for your employees to elect or appoint representatives of a special negotiating body (SNB).
You'll have six months to set up the SNB and start negotiations. Otherwise, fall-back provisions will apply.
The SNB should be made up of employees' representatives from each EEA country where your business has employees. Its role is to negotiate with your central management over the composition and terms of the EWC.
EWC agreements
Once an SNB has been set up, the parties have up to three years to negotiate an EWC agreement in order to determine - among other things - exactly how the EWC will be set up, what it will discuss, how often it will meet and what it should be provided with to help it function.
A negotiated EWC agreement must set out:
- what parts of the undertaking will be covered by the agreement
- the composition of the EWC and how long its members will serve
- the functions of the EWC
- the way I&C will take place
- how central management will disclose information
- the venue, frequency and duration of EWC meetings
- how the consultation dialogue with the EWC should link to I&C at the national level
- the financial and material resources that will be available to the EWC
- how long the EWC will last
- how the EWC agreement will be renegotiated
- if a select committee should be set up and, if so, how it will operate
An EWC agreement will need to meet the requirements of the fall-back provisions if:
- the parties decide not to negotiate
- an agreement cannot be reached
- the management and the SNB decide it is so
The fall-back provisions are much more prescriptive about what the employer must consult over and when.
While your central management should try to be as open as possible with your EWC, you can withhold certain information if its disclosure would seriously harm the functioning of the business.
Enforcement of the EWC legislation
The enforcement provisions of the EWC legislation are shared between the Industrial Court and the High Court.
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Informing and consulting employees - best practice
Communicate individually, face-to-face, in writing, and by consultation according to the subject and the audience.
Depending on your business' size, nature and structure, the type of information you are sharing, and the input you hope to get, there are a variety of ways to communicate and consult with employees and/or their representatives.
Where you have an information and consultation or European Works Council agreement, a pre-existing agreement, or where you are legally required to inform and consult with employees on other matters (such as health and safety regulations or when considering redundancies), any consulting and informing you carry out must comply with the terms of that agreement or other legal requirements.
Effective communication methods
To communicate individually, you could use:
- one-to-one meetings - for issues specific to the individual
- telephone calls - for home workers and other offsite employees
- email - employees can respond at their convenience
A record should be appropriately kept of such communications. You must comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
Failure to consult your staff is a regular employment tribunal complaint by employees.
Face-to-face communication methods
Face-to-face methods of communication include:
- group or team briefings - discussion and feedback on issues directly related to the group
- quality circles - groups that meet regularly to solve problems and improve quality
- large-scale meetings - to present the business' performance and long-term objectives to employees or exchange of views
- cascade networks - briefing small groups of people who tell others the same information, to get information across quickly without having to call a meeting
- inter-departmental briefings - to promote a unified approach within larger businesses
Written methods of communication
Written methods include:
- company handbooks - combines company and job-related information
- company newsletters - present information about the business and its people, in print or through email
- employee information notes - reports the business' activities and performance
- departmental bulletins - informs on a sectional, departmental, or wider basis
- notice boards - encourages communication between employees
- intranets - stores company information in a structured way for employee access
- email - communicates with employees in different or isolated locations
Consultation methods
Consultation methods include:
- joint consultative councils/works councils - regular meetings of managers and employee representatives
- joint working parties - resolves specific issues and includes managers and employees
- trade unions - aim to improve terms and conditions for their members
- informal emails - promote a feedback forum for employees to consider and put forward ideas at times convenient to them
- annual staff survey or questionnaire - allows for giving frank views if employees can reply anonymously
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How to achieve good communication between employer and employees
How to encourage a two-way flow of information between employees and managers.
Be clear about what you are trying to achieve and explain to employees, their representatives, or both, whether you are informing, consulting, or negotiating with them.
A two-way flow of information
You should encourage a two-way flow of information between employees and managers. Consider:
- holding regular meetings
- using language your employees understand - not jargon
- keeping discussions focused, relevant, local, and timely
- using open-ended questions to draw out ideas from employees
- ensuring your communications reach every employee, ie don't forget part-time workers, home workers, and absent workers (for example, those on statutory leave and those absent due to sickness)
- using social events to break down barriers and build up trust
Communicating sensitive information
When you need to communicate controversial or sensitive issues, eg poor company results, you should do this face-to-face. It's usually better to have a senior manager discussing such important matters. The advantage of spoken, face-to-face communication is that it's a direct and effective way to get across facts. It can't be relied upon completely because misunderstandings and rumours can arise - you may wish to reinforce it with written confirmation, see managing conflict.
You may also want written information available for employees to refer to.
Make sure that whoever talks to the employees is fully briefed, and provide an opportunity for employees to ask questions:
- If you are asked a question you don't know the answer to, say so. You could advise that you would have needed notice of that question as you don't currently have the information to hand for an immediate response. Explain that you will get back to them with an answer in due course. For all employees to be informed you could email all staff once you have an answer to a query that affects them all.
- If there is no answer, explain the reasons for this.
- If you can get an answer by a given deadline, tell them this.
Effective written communication is typically accurate, brief, and clear. It's good practice to have copies of all business policies and information in one place which employees have access to, eg an intranet. Employees can look up procedures, duties, and contract terms at their convenience or when they need clarification.
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Examples of good information and consultation in practice
How to create procedures to communicate and consult with your staff.
A communications policy is an effective way of defining who is responsible for information and consultation (I&C), the channels along which information passes, and the way it is communicated.
If your business is not affected by the legal requirements you should still consult with your employees to establish an I&C agreement.
Establishing an I&C policy
A good I&C policy clearly describes who is responsible for communication at each level and the methods used for communication. It also outlines the arrangements for consultation and for training employees and managers.
Consider involving trade union representatives or other employee representatives when you draw up the policy and throughout the communications and consultation process. You should involve senior managers and get them to take the lead. Make provisions to include your workers in different sites, isolated areas, or those working from home.
Make sure that your communications and consultations are systematic and regular. You should frequently review the policy and be willing to modify it. Tailor your consultative arrangements to your business.
Small companies typically have informal arrangements, but you may need a more formal arrangement so that everyone clearly understands their roles and responsibilities. This is important where consultation is a legal obligation.
Be genuine about your commitment to communication and consider employees' views before making a decision.
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Advantages of communications and consultation training in successful business
Communications and consultation training for managers, employees and trade union representatives.
Training managers and employees in communications skills and techniques can improve communications and consultation practice within your business.
Employees can benefit from understanding the information they are given and it can encourage them to take a more active role in the communications and consultation process. Training can help trade union representatives take a fuller part in communications and consultation.
Benefits of training
Courses can help encourage employee involvement in your business. They can also help you communicate information to employees on a range of issues that relate to their employment. Communication training for managers and employees can help break down any barriers between them.
Training can help managers to:
- understand the importance of good communication and of having a consultation policy
- understand their roles
- encourage those employees who have problems communicating
- understand and meet their legal obligations for informing and consulting
For more information, see skills and training for directors and owners.
Areas of skills development
Useful courses for your employees and managers may cover:
- joint working methods
- effective meetings
- presentation skills
- listening skills
- effective business writing
- interviewing techniques
As with any training, it is a good idea to periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the training course.
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Minimum requirements of workplace parental leave schemes
In this guide:
- Parental leave and time off for dependants
- Parental leave entitlement
- Parental leave notification and postponement
- When parental leave can be taken and for how long
- Reasons for taking parental leave
- Contractual issues during parental leave
- Returning to work after parental leave
- Agreeing a workplace parental leave scheme
- Minimum requirements of workplace parental leave schemes
- Time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants
- Childcare support for your staff
Parental leave entitlement
Which employees are entitled to parental leave, and the evidence you can ask for as proof of this entitlement.
Employees are entitled to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave if:
- they have at least one year's continuous service with you and/or an associated employer
- they have a child under the age of 18 years old
- they have - or expect to have - parental responsibility for the child
A week's leave is equal to the length of time the employee is normally required to work, eg, a week's leave is:
- five days for an employee working Monday to Friday
- two days for an employee working Tuesday and Wednesday only
The parent doesn't have to be living with the child to qualify.
The right applies to each child. Therefore, if an employee has twins, they are entitled to 36 weeks of parental leave.
Parental leave cannot be transferred between parents and is a different entitlement to shared parental leave and pay.
The leave must be taken within a set period - see when parental leave can be taken and for how long.
Entitlement where the employee changes employer
The 18-week entitlement applies to an individual child, not to individual employment.
Therefore, if, for example, an employee has taken eight weeks' parental leave with their previous employer, they are only entitled to take another ten weeks while in your employment. They must also have completed a year's service with you to qualify.
Evidence of entitlement
You can ask an employee to produce evidence to show that:
- the employee is the parent of a child
- the employee has parental responsibility for the child
- the child is below the age at which the right to parental leave ceases
This evidence could be:
- the child's birth certificate
- papers confirming a child's adoption or the date of placement for adoption
Your request for evidence must be reasonable, eg, it may not be reasonable for you to check on the employee's entitlement on every occasion on which leave is asked for.
Record keeping for parental leave
You are not required by law to keep formal records of employees' parental leave, but you may wish to do so for your own records.
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Parental leave notification and postponement
Employee notice periods for parental leave and circumstances where the start of the leave period may be postponed.
An employee must give you at least 21 days' notice before a period of parental leave begins, of both the start and end dates of the leave period they intend to take.
The employee does not have to give you this notice in writing unless you request it. This notice is valid if orally given. However, there must be evidence of a formal application for leave. It would be sensible to consider confirming this in writing, ie, receipt of the employee's notice.
An employee must notify you 21 days before their maternity, adoption, paternity, or shared parental leave ends if they want to take parental leave immediately after the end of their maternity or adoption leave.
Notification for parental leave immediately after childbirth or placement for adoption
If an employee wants to take parental leave immediately after the birth of a child, they must give you 21 days' notice before the beginning of the expected week of childbirth.
If an employee wants to take parental leave immediately after the placement for the adoption of a child, they must give you 21 days' notice of the expected week of placement. In rare cases where this is not possible, an adoptive parent should give you notice as soon as is reasonably practicable.
As long as the employee gives the right notice, their parental leave will start on the day on which the child is:
- born - regardless of whether the child is born early or late
- placed for adoption
You should note that taking parental leave following childbirth applies only to fathers/partners as the mother will be on maternity leave.
Postponing parental leave
If you have good business reasons, you can postpone the leave for up to six months after the beginning of the leave period the employee originally requested. However, you cannot postpone leave so that it ends after a child's 18th birthday.
You are only entitled to postpone leave if it would cause significant disruption to your business, eg, if leave were requested:
- over a period of peak seasonal production
- at the same time as other employees have requested leave
- when the employee's absence would unduly harm your business
- where a replacement cannot be found within the notice period
- in the education sector where postponement is necessary to ensure the continuation of education
Note that you can't postpone leave where the employee wants to take it immediately after their child is born or placed with them for adoption.
If you need to postpone your employee's parental leave, you must consult your employee about a new date.
To do this, you must write to the employee within seven days of receiving the employee's notification explaining why you need to postpone their leave and confirming the new start and end date.
You must allow the employee to take the same amount of parental leave as they originally applied for. You cannot reduce the amount of leave requested or break it up into shorter periods.
Read more on when can parental leave be taken and for how long.
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When parental leave can be taken and for how long
Limits on when parental leave can be taken and its duration, plus how to deal with irregular working weeks.
An employee can only take a period of parental leave before the child's 18th birthday.
Unless you agree, they can take more leave; employees can take a maximum of four weeks' leave in any year in respect of any individual child. Therefore, an employee with twins could take up to eight weeks in any one year.
An employee can take a period of leave immediately after the end of maternity, paternity, adoption, or shared parental leave.
Unless you agree, leave can be taken in shorter blocks, periods of leave must be taken in multiples of one week - unless the child in respect of whom leave is being taken is entitled to disability living allowance, personal independence payment, or armed forces independence payment. In this case, the employee may take the leave in periods shorter than one week - it may be taken as individual days. See further guidance on Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment for adults.
Irregular working weeks
If an employee's working pattern varies from week to week, you must calculate an average working week as a fraction of the period for which the employee is required to work in a year.
For example, if you have a contract with an employee to work three days a week for 30 weeks, four days a week for 18 weeks, and two days a week for four weeks, you would calculate the number of days leave in their average week by dividing the total number of working days in these periods by 52.
If an employee takes leave in blocks of less than one week, a week is only deducted from the overall entitlement of 18 weeks when the short periods of leave add up to what would be a normal or average working week. This would only apply in situations where a workforce or a relevant agreement allows leave to be taken in shorter periods than a week or to the parents of a child who is entitled to disability living allowance, personal independence payment, or armed forces independence payment. This is because, under the default scheme, any leave that an employee takes in a week is equivalent to a week.
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Reasons for taking parental leave
What an employee can and can't take parental leave for.
An employee may only take parental leave to care for the child. This means looking after the welfare of a child and can include making arrangements for the good of a child.
For example, an employee might take parental leave to:
- spend more time with the child
- accompany the child during a stay in hospital
- check out new schools
- help settle the child into new childcare arrangements
- enable a family to spend more time together, eg, taking the child to stay with grandparents
Caring for a child does not necessarily mean the employee has to be with the child 24 hours a day.
If you find that the employee is using the parental leave for some other purpose, eg to do other work, you could deal with this using your disciplinary procedure. Read more on disciplinary procedures, hearings and appeals.
A period of notice is normally required before taking parental leave - see notification and postponement of parental leave. Therefore, parental leave is not suitable when an employee's child suddenly falls ill.
However, the employee will be able to take a short period of emergency leave to care for the child - see time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants.
You can agree to allow an employee to take parental leave at short notice, eg, if a child falls ill.
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Contractual issues during parental leave
Continuing contractual obligations during parental leave - dealing with redundancy, annual leave, and bonus payments.
The employment contract continues during any period of parental leave - unless it is terminated by the employer or employee.
Terms and conditions during parental leave
Some terms and conditions of employment continue to apply during parental leave.
You must continue to abide by the terms and conditions of employment relating to:
- notice periods
- any compensation if the employee is made redundant
- the business' disciplinary or grievance procedures
The employee must continue to abide by the terms and conditions of employment relating to:
- notice periods
- disclosure of confidential information
- acceptance of gifts, or other benefits
- working for another employer
The employment contract continues during parental leave unless it is terminated by you or the employee. This means that the employee continues to benefit from their statutory employment rights during parental leave and from your continued trust and confidence. Your employee must continue to act in good faith.
Whether or not other contractual terms and conditions, such as access to a company car or mobile phone and perks such as health club membership, continue to apply depends on the contract of employment, or you can decide on a discretionary, case-by-case basis. You should exercise caution in using discretion to avoid complaints of discrimination.
Pensions
Generally, an employee's seniority and pension rights are unaffected by parental leave, and rights on return from parental leave should be the same as they would have been if the employee had not been absent.
Since parental leave is generally unpaid, contributions to a money purchase scheme by employer and employee will usually be nil, unless the rules of the scheme provide otherwise. However, for final salary schemes, the level of employers' contributions depends on actuarial advice and not directly on the amount of an employee's earnings. Since parental leave counts as pensionable service, the employer may have to continue making contributions in order to keep the fund at an appropriate level.
However, if you choose to pay your employee during parental leave, you will need to make pension contributions as though they were working normally. Know your legal obligations on pensions.
Redundancy
If a redundancy situation arises while an employee is on parental leave, you must keep them informed and involve them in any consultations that are required.
If they are selected for redundancy, you must consider them for any alternative work that might be available.
Annual leave
An employee continues to accrue their statutory paid holiday entitlement during parental leave. Whether or not they also accrue contractual paid holiday entitlement depends on either the contract of employment or what you agree with the employee when they take their leave. Know how much holiday to give your staff.
Pay and benefits
Parental leave is unpaid - unless you have made paid parental leave a contractual right.
It is up to you, in agreement with the employee, to decide what contractual benefits continue during parental leave, eg, access to a company car, use of a mobile phone, and health club membership.
Bonus payments
Whether or not you must pay a bonus to an employee on parental leave depends on the type of bonus and the terms of the particular bonus scheme.
Generally, an employee will be entitled to the bonus if it relates to performance or work done before the leave began.
Therefore, an employee is unlikely to be entitled to the bonus if it is a reward for future work or performance, during a period in which the employee would be absent on parental leave.
Payments of bonuses during parental leave can be a complicated area. You should seek independent legal advice if you are unsure.
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Returning to work after parental leave
Circumstances in which an employee is, or is not, entitled to return to the same job after parental leave.
An employee is entitled to return to the same job as before if the parental leave was for an isolated period of four weeks or less.
An employee is also entitled to return to the same job if the period of parental leave was for four weeks or less and followed a period (of any combination of) maternity, adoption, paternity, or shared parental leave of 26 weeks or less in respect of the same child. Read more on maternity leave and pay, paternity leave and pay, adoption leave and pay, and shared parental leave and pay.
If the parental leave period is longer than four weeks, or is preceded or followed by any period (or some combination of) maternity, adoption, paternity, or shared parental leave of more than 26 weeks, the employee is entitled to return to the job as before - but only if it's reasonably practicable.
If it is not reasonably practicable for the employee to return to the same job, they are entitled to return to a similar job that is both suitable for him or her and appropriate for him or her to do in the circumstances with the same or better terms and conditions and status as the old job.
An employee returning to work after parental leave is entitled to benefit from any general improvements to the rate of pay (and any other terms and conditions) that you may have introduced for their grade or class of work while they have been away.
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Agreeing a workplace parental leave scheme
How you should go about agreeing on a parental leave scheme with your employees or their representatives.
You can agree to your own parental leave scheme with your employees, although this must meet certain minimum requirements of workplace parental leave schemes.
The agreement can be:
- A collective agreement with a recognised trade union - find out how to work effectively with trade unions.
- A workforce agreement - ie, an agreement with all or some of your employees - but only where there is no collective agreement in place.
- By agreement with an individual employee - this could either be set out in the contract of employment or be a discretionary agreement made with an employee on a case-by-case basis. You should exercise caution in using discretion to avoid complaints of discrimination.
Deciding who you are going to make a workforce agreement with
You must first decide who you want to make the agreement with - will it be the whole workforce or a group within it?
If it is a group, they must:
- share a workplace
- do related work
- belong to a particular department or unit within their employer's business
Electing representatives for workforce agreement
You must then arrange to elect employee representatives to negotiate the agreement with you.
To do this, you should:
- decide on the number of representatives to be elected
- ensure candidates are members of the workforce on the date of the election or, in the case of a group, a member of the group to whom the agreement is to apply
- allow each employee a vote for each representative to be elected to represent them
- ensure as far as is reasonably practicable that they are elected by secret ballot
- ensure that the votes are counted fairly and accurately
Ensuring that a workforce agreement is valid
For the agreement to be valid, you must:
- put the agreement in writing
- show it to all employees to whom it will apply, together with a guide explaining what it means
- have it signed off by all representatives or by most of the workforce where 20 or fewer employees are employed when it comes into effect
In addition, the agreement cannot last for more than five years.
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Minimum requirements of workplace parental leave schemes
What a parental scheme must contain, and suggestions on how you can enhance it to benefit your employees.
A workplace agreement on parental leave must, at the very least, comply with certain minimum requirements. The agreement can be more favourable for the employee, for example, a shorter period of notice or allowing leave to be taken in shorter blocks.
Default provisions for a workplace parental leave scheme
The default provisions for a workplace parental leave scheme are that it must:
- Allow an employee with parental responsibilities and one year's continuous service to take unpaid parental leave.
- Allow an employee to take a total of 18 weeks of parental leave for each child. See parental leave entitlement.
- Allow for an employee to give 21 days' notice of their intention to take parental leave. See parental leave notification and postponement.
- Permit an employee to take leave up to the child's 18th birthday.
- Limit an employee to no more than four weeks of parental leave per year.
- Permit an employee to take leave only in blocks of one week (individual days if the child is entitled to disability living allowance, personal independence payment, or armed forces independence payment). See when parental leave can be taken and for how long.
- Ensure that the employee's employment contract continues and certain minimum contractual conditions continue to apply. See contractual issues during parental leave.
- Ensure that the employee is entitled to return to the same job or, under certain conditions, a similar job. See returning to work after parental leave.
Failure to reach an agreement on a parental leave scheme
If you fail to reach - or simply don't have - a workforce agreement on parental leave arrangements, you must comply with the default provisions.
Enhancing a parental leave scheme
You can, of course, agree with workplace representatives to enhance your parental leave scheme by, for example:
- paying employees, eg, full or half pay, while they are on leave
- allowing employees to take more than their maximum statutory parental leave entitlement
- specifying a notice period that is less than 21 days
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Time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants
An employee's right to take time off at short notice, eg, to deal with illness or attend a partner's childbirth.
All employees have the right to a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant.
A dependant is a spouse, partner, child, or parent, or a person who lives with the employee. It does not include tenants, lodgers, or boarders living in the family home or an employee who lives in the household, such as a housekeeper. A dependant could also be someone else who reasonably relies on the employee for care, eg, an elderly neighbour.
Employees can take leave when a dependant:
- falls ill, or is injured, or assaulted - including mental illness or injury, eg, emotional distress
- goes into labour
They can also take leave when they need to:
- make longer-term care arrangements for a dependant who is ill or injured
- arrange or attend a dependant's funeral
- deal with an unexpected problem in care arrangements, eg, if a childminder is unexpectedly unavailable
- deal with an incident involving the employee's child during school hours, eg, suspension from school
How much time off can an employee take?
The right is to have reasonable time off. This amount of time isn't fixed - it should simply allow the employee to deal with the immediate problem and put any other necessary care arrangements in place.
For example, an employee would not normally be able to take two weeks off to care for a sick child, but they could take one or two days to take the child to the doctor and arrange for someone else to look after him or her.
Emergency time off and protection against detriment or dismissal
You must not:
- subject an employee to detrimental treatment for taking emergency time off
- dismiss an employee, or select them for redundancy, because they took, or sought to take, emergency leave
If an employee believes that you have treated them unfairly or dismissed them in these circumstances, they may take a claim of detrimental treatment or unfair dismissal to an industrial tribunal - regardless of their length of service.
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Childcare support for your staff
Informing your staff of available financial support for their childcare costs.
Promoting a family-friendly working environment can lead to a number of business benefits, including:
- savings on National Insurance contributions if offering financial childcare support, for example, childcare vouchers
- increased productivity
- reduced absenteeism
- attracting new staff
- retention of current staff
See Employers For Childcare's guidance on being a family-friendly employer.
Communicating family-friendly policies
It's a good idea to set out in writing, eg, in a staff handbook, the:
- statutory family-friendly rights to which employees are entitled
- enhancements to those rights, if any, that exist, and whether they are contractual or discretionary - you should exercise caution in using discretion to avoid complaints of discrimination
- procedures they need to follow if they wish to take up these rights
See Invest Northern Ireland Employers' Handbook and HR documents and templates.
These rights should - at the very least - include rights in relation to:
- shared parental leave and pay
- maternity leave and pay
- paternity leave and pay
- adoption leave and pay
- parental bereavement leave and pay
- parental leave entitlement
- time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants
- flexible working: the law and best practice
Allowing flexibility in your procedures
You should try to build some flexibility into your procedures to allow your employees the time they need to deal with their childcare responsibilities.
The charity Working Families has more help and advice on helping employees achieve a work-life balance: advice for employers on good working practices.
Financial support for childcare
There are a number of financial support schemes currently available to working parents. You should make your workers aware of these, including:
- Tax-Free Childcare - this allows eligible working families to claim 20% of their childcare costs, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child, per year (£4,000 for a child with a disability).
- Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme - this aims to reduce childcare costs of eligible working parents by 15% for children who have not yet started primary school. Parents must be claiming Tax-Free Childcare to receive the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy. Universal Credit claimants are not eligible for help under this scheme.
- Universal Credit - entitlement will depend on household circumstances but Universal Credit can pay up to 85% of registered childcare costs, up to a maximum of £1,014.63 per month for one child, and £1,739.37 per month for two or more children. Eligible parents claiming Universal Credit are also able to get help with their childcare upfront, so that they can more easily pay their next set of costs.
- Child Tax Credit - Tax Credits are being replaced by Universal Credit. It is now only possible to make a claim for Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit if you already receive the other type of Tax Credit.
- Childcare Vouchers - some employees may also benefit from Childcare Vouchers offered through their employer, but only if they are already availing of the scheme. It is now closed to new applicants. However, parents may be able to avail of another form of support, such as Tax-Free Childcare, if they are no longer eligible.
- Child Benefit - parents/guardians are eligible for Child Benefit if they are responsible for a child who is under 16 or under 20 years old if they stay in approved education or training. It is paid every four weeks and the current allowance is £25.60 per week for the eldest or only child; and £16.95 for every additional child.
Employees entitled to financial support towards childcare costs can only claim these benefits by using providers that are registered or approved with the Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland. There are different types of registered childcare available to parents, including:
- Registered childminder
- Day nursery
- Out of school care
- Approved home child carer
Find a list of all childcare providers registered and approved with the Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland.
Providing childcare provision
You may want to consider offering employees some form of childcare provision. This sort of employee benefit can improve:
- staff morale
- recruitment and retention
- the availability of employees
You can help with childcare in a number of ways, eg, by:
- Making staff aware of the financial support available to meet their childcare costs - see financial support for childcare above.
- Providing on-site childcare, ie, a workplace nursery.
- Offering childcare allowances - cash payments to allow employees to buy childcare services through a nursery or childminder.
See expenses and benefits: childcare.
Employer's guide to childcare
The Employer's Guide to Childcare highlights the financial support available to assist working parents with their registered childcare costs. The dedicated guidance also offers tips on how and when to engage with staff regarding childcare issues. There is also a list of contacts where employers and their staff can get further advice and help.
For further details, download Employer's Guide to Childcare - Supporting Employees to Access Childcare Support (PDF, 934K).
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Agreeing a workplace parental leave scheme
In this guide:
- Parental leave and time off for dependants
- Parental leave entitlement
- Parental leave notification and postponement
- When parental leave can be taken and for how long
- Reasons for taking parental leave
- Contractual issues during parental leave
- Returning to work after parental leave
- Agreeing a workplace parental leave scheme
- Minimum requirements of workplace parental leave schemes
- Time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants
- Childcare support for your staff
Parental leave entitlement
Which employees are entitled to parental leave, and the evidence you can ask for as proof of this entitlement.
Employees are entitled to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave if:
- they have at least one year's continuous service with you and/or an associated employer
- they have a child under the age of 18 years old
- they have - or expect to have - parental responsibility for the child
A week's leave is equal to the length of time the employee is normally required to work, eg, a week's leave is:
- five days for an employee working Monday to Friday
- two days for an employee working Tuesday and Wednesday only
The parent doesn't have to be living with the child to qualify.
The right applies to each child. Therefore, if an employee has twins, they are entitled to 36 weeks of parental leave.
Parental leave cannot be transferred between parents and is a different entitlement to shared parental leave and pay.
The leave must be taken within a set period - see when parental leave can be taken and for how long.
Entitlement where the employee changes employer
The 18-week entitlement applies to an individual child, not to individual employment.
Therefore, if, for example, an employee has taken eight weeks' parental leave with their previous employer, they are only entitled to take another ten weeks while in your employment. They must also have completed a year's service with you to qualify.
Evidence of entitlement
You can ask an employee to produce evidence to show that:
- the employee is the parent of a child
- the employee has parental responsibility for the child
- the child is below the age at which the right to parental leave ceases
This evidence could be:
- the child's birth certificate
- papers confirming a child's adoption or the date of placement for adoption
Your request for evidence must be reasonable, eg, it may not be reasonable for you to check on the employee's entitlement on every occasion on which leave is asked for.
Record keeping for parental leave
You are not required by law to keep formal records of employees' parental leave, but you may wish to do so for your own records.
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Parental leave notification and postponement
Employee notice periods for parental leave and circumstances where the start of the leave period may be postponed.
An employee must give you at least 21 days' notice before a period of parental leave begins, of both the start and end dates of the leave period they intend to take.
The employee does not have to give you this notice in writing unless you request it. This notice is valid if orally given. However, there must be evidence of a formal application for leave. It would be sensible to consider confirming this in writing, ie, receipt of the employee's notice.
An employee must notify you 21 days before their maternity, adoption, paternity, or shared parental leave ends if they want to take parental leave immediately after the end of their maternity or adoption leave.
Notification for parental leave immediately after childbirth or placement for adoption
If an employee wants to take parental leave immediately after the birth of a child, they must give you 21 days' notice before the beginning of the expected week of childbirth.
If an employee wants to take parental leave immediately after the placement for the adoption of a child, they must give you 21 days' notice of the expected week of placement. In rare cases where this is not possible, an adoptive parent should give you notice as soon as is reasonably practicable.
As long as the employee gives the right notice, their parental leave will start on the day on which the child is:
- born - regardless of whether the child is born early or late
- placed for adoption
You should note that taking parental leave following childbirth applies only to fathers/partners as the mother will be on maternity leave.
Postponing parental leave
If you have good business reasons, you can postpone the leave for up to six months after the beginning of the leave period the employee originally requested. However, you cannot postpone leave so that it ends after a child's 18th birthday.
You are only entitled to postpone leave if it would cause significant disruption to your business, eg, if leave were requested:
- over a period of peak seasonal production
- at the same time as other employees have requested leave
- when the employee's absence would unduly harm your business
- where a replacement cannot be found within the notice period
- in the education sector where postponement is necessary to ensure the continuation of education
Note that you can't postpone leave where the employee wants to take it immediately after their child is born or placed with them for adoption.
If you need to postpone your employee's parental leave, you must consult your employee about a new date.
To do this, you must write to the employee within seven days of receiving the employee's notification explaining why you need to postpone their leave and confirming the new start and end date.
You must allow the employee to take the same amount of parental leave as they originally applied for. You cannot reduce the amount of leave requested or break it up into shorter periods.
Read more on when can parental leave be taken and for how long.
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When parental leave can be taken and for how long
Limits on when parental leave can be taken and its duration, plus how to deal with irregular working weeks.
An employee can only take a period of parental leave before the child's 18th birthday.
Unless you agree, they can take more leave; employees can take a maximum of four weeks' leave in any year in respect of any individual child. Therefore, an employee with twins could take up to eight weeks in any one year.
An employee can take a period of leave immediately after the end of maternity, paternity, adoption, or shared parental leave.
Unless you agree, leave can be taken in shorter blocks, periods of leave must be taken in multiples of one week - unless the child in respect of whom leave is being taken is entitled to disability living allowance, personal independence payment, or armed forces independence payment. In this case, the employee may take the leave in periods shorter than one week - it may be taken as individual days. See further guidance on Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment for adults.
Irregular working weeks
If an employee's working pattern varies from week to week, you must calculate an average working week as a fraction of the period for which the employee is required to work in a year.
For example, if you have a contract with an employee to work three days a week for 30 weeks, four days a week for 18 weeks, and two days a week for four weeks, you would calculate the number of days leave in their average week by dividing the total number of working days in these periods by 52.
If an employee takes leave in blocks of less than one week, a week is only deducted from the overall entitlement of 18 weeks when the short periods of leave add up to what would be a normal or average working week. This would only apply in situations where a workforce or a relevant agreement allows leave to be taken in shorter periods than a week or to the parents of a child who is entitled to disability living allowance, personal independence payment, or armed forces independence payment. This is because, under the default scheme, any leave that an employee takes in a week is equivalent to a week.
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Reasons for taking parental leave
What an employee can and can't take parental leave for.
An employee may only take parental leave to care for the child. This means looking after the welfare of a child and can include making arrangements for the good of a child.
For example, an employee might take parental leave to:
- spend more time with the child
- accompany the child during a stay in hospital
- check out new schools
- help settle the child into new childcare arrangements
- enable a family to spend more time together, eg, taking the child to stay with grandparents
Caring for a child does not necessarily mean the employee has to be with the child 24 hours a day.
If you find that the employee is using the parental leave for some other purpose, eg to do other work, you could deal with this using your disciplinary procedure. Read more on disciplinary procedures, hearings and appeals.
A period of notice is normally required before taking parental leave - see notification and postponement of parental leave. Therefore, parental leave is not suitable when an employee's child suddenly falls ill.
However, the employee will be able to take a short period of emergency leave to care for the child - see time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants.
You can agree to allow an employee to take parental leave at short notice, eg, if a child falls ill.
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Contractual issues during parental leave
Continuing contractual obligations during parental leave - dealing with redundancy, annual leave, and bonus payments.
The employment contract continues during any period of parental leave - unless it is terminated by the employer or employee.
Terms and conditions during parental leave
Some terms and conditions of employment continue to apply during parental leave.
You must continue to abide by the terms and conditions of employment relating to:
- notice periods
- any compensation if the employee is made redundant
- the business' disciplinary or grievance procedures
The employee must continue to abide by the terms and conditions of employment relating to:
- notice periods
- disclosure of confidential information
- acceptance of gifts, or other benefits
- working for another employer
The employment contract continues during parental leave unless it is terminated by you or the employee. This means that the employee continues to benefit from their statutory employment rights during parental leave and from your continued trust and confidence. Your employee must continue to act in good faith.
Whether or not other contractual terms and conditions, such as access to a company car or mobile phone and perks such as health club membership, continue to apply depends on the contract of employment, or you can decide on a discretionary, case-by-case basis. You should exercise caution in using discretion to avoid complaints of discrimination.
Pensions
Generally, an employee's seniority and pension rights are unaffected by parental leave, and rights on return from parental leave should be the same as they would have been if the employee had not been absent.
Since parental leave is generally unpaid, contributions to a money purchase scheme by employer and employee will usually be nil, unless the rules of the scheme provide otherwise. However, for final salary schemes, the level of employers' contributions depends on actuarial advice and not directly on the amount of an employee's earnings. Since parental leave counts as pensionable service, the employer may have to continue making contributions in order to keep the fund at an appropriate level.
However, if you choose to pay your employee during parental leave, you will need to make pension contributions as though they were working normally. Know your legal obligations on pensions.
Redundancy
If a redundancy situation arises while an employee is on parental leave, you must keep them informed and involve them in any consultations that are required.
If they are selected for redundancy, you must consider them for any alternative work that might be available.
Annual leave
An employee continues to accrue their statutory paid holiday entitlement during parental leave. Whether or not they also accrue contractual paid holiday entitlement depends on either the contract of employment or what you agree with the employee when they take their leave. Know how much holiday to give your staff.
Pay and benefits
Parental leave is unpaid - unless you have made paid parental leave a contractual right.
It is up to you, in agreement with the employee, to decide what contractual benefits continue during parental leave, eg, access to a company car, use of a mobile phone, and health club membership.
Bonus payments
Whether or not you must pay a bonus to an employee on parental leave depends on the type of bonus and the terms of the particular bonus scheme.
Generally, an employee will be entitled to the bonus if it relates to performance or work done before the leave began.
Therefore, an employee is unlikely to be entitled to the bonus if it is a reward for future work or performance, during a period in which the employee would be absent on parental leave.
Payments of bonuses during parental leave can be a complicated area. You should seek independent legal advice if you are unsure.
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Returning to work after parental leave
Circumstances in which an employee is, or is not, entitled to return to the same job after parental leave.
An employee is entitled to return to the same job as before if the parental leave was for an isolated period of four weeks or less.
An employee is also entitled to return to the same job if the period of parental leave was for four weeks or less and followed a period (of any combination of) maternity, adoption, paternity, or shared parental leave of 26 weeks or less in respect of the same child. Read more on maternity leave and pay, paternity leave and pay, adoption leave and pay, and shared parental leave and pay.
If the parental leave period is longer than four weeks, or is preceded or followed by any period (or some combination of) maternity, adoption, paternity, or shared parental leave of more than 26 weeks, the employee is entitled to return to the job as before - but only if it's reasonably practicable.
If it is not reasonably practicable for the employee to return to the same job, they are entitled to return to a similar job that is both suitable for him or her and appropriate for him or her to do in the circumstances with the same or better terms and conditions and status as the old job.
An employee returning to work after parental leave is entitled to benefit from any general improvements to the rate of pay (and any other terms and conditions) that you may have introduced for their grade or class of work while they have been away.
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Agreeing a workplace parental leave scheme
How you should go about agreeing on a parental leave scheme with your employees or their representatives.
You can agree to your own parental leave scheme with your employees, although this must meet certain minimum requirements of workplace parental leave schemes.
The agreement can be:
- A collective agreement with a recognised trade union - find out how to work effectively with trade unions.
- A workforce agreement - ie, an agreement with all or some of your employees - but only where there is no collective agreement in place.
- By agreement with an individual employee - this could either be set out in the contract of employment or be a discretionary agreement made with an employee on a case-by-case basis. You should exercise caution in using discretion to avoid complaints of discrimination.
Deciding who you are going to make a workforce agreement with
You must first decide who you want to make the agreement with - will it be the whole workforce or a group within it?
If it is a group, they must:
- share a workplace
- do related work
- belong to a particular department or unit within their employer's business
Electing representatives for workforce agreement
You must then arrange to elect employee representatives to negotiate the agreement with you.
To do this, you should:
- decide on the number of representatives to be elected
- ensure candidates are members of the workforce on the date of the election or, in the case of a group, a member of the group to whom the agreement is to apply
- allow each employee a vote for each representative to be elected to represent them
- ensure as far as is reasonably practicable that they are elected by secret ballot
- ensure that the votes are counted fairly and accurately
Ensuring that a workforce agreement is valid
For the agreement to be valid, you must:
- put the agreement in writing
- show it to all employees to whom it will apply, together with a guide explaining what it means
- have it signed off by all representatives or by most of the workforce where 20 or fewer employees are employed when it comes into effect
In addition, the agreement cannot last for more than five years.
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Minimum requirements of workplace parental leave schemes
What a parental scheme must contain, and suggestions on how you can enhance it to benefit your employees.
A workplace agreement on parental leave must, at the very least, comply with certain minimum requirements. The agreement can be more favourable for the employee, for example, a shorter period of notice or allowing leave to be taken in shorter blocks.
Default provisions for a workplace parental leave scheme
The default provisions for a workplace parental leave scheme are that it must:
- Allow an employee with parental responsibilities and one year's continuous service to take unpaid parental leave.
- Allow an employee to take a total of 18 weeks of parental leave for each child. See parental leave entitlement.
- Allow for an employee to give 21 days' notice of their intention to take parental leave. See parental leave notification and postponement.
- Permit an employee to take leave up to the child's 18th birthday.
- Limit an employee to no more than four weeks of parental leave per year.
- Permit an employee to take leave only in blocks of one week (individual days if the child is entitled to disability living allowance, personal independence payment, or armed forces independence payment). See when parental leave can be taken and for how long.
- Ensure that the employee's employment contract continues and certain minimum contractual conditions continue to apply. See contractual issues during parental leave.
- Ensure that the employee is entitled to return to the same job or, under certain conditions, a similar job. See returning to work after parental leave.
Failure to reach an agreement on a parental leave scheme
If you fail to reach - or simply don't have - a workforce agreement on parental leave arrangements, you must comply with the default provisions.
Enhancing a parental leave scheme
You can, of course, agree with workplace representatives to enhance your parental leave scheme by, for example:
- paying employees, eg, full or half pay, while they are on leave
- allowing employees to take more than their maximum statutory parental leave entitlement
- specifying a notice period that is less than 21 days
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Time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants
An employee's right to take time off at short notice, eg, to deal with illness or attend a partner's childbirth.
All employees have the right to a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant.
A dependant is a spouse, partner, child, or parent, or a person who lives with the employee. It does not include tenants, lodgers, or boarders living in the family home or an employee who lives in the household, such as a housekeeper. A dependant could also be someone else who reasonably relies on the employee for care, eg, an elderly neighbour.
Employees can take leave when a dependant:
- falls ill, or is injured, or assaulted - including mental illness or injury, eg, emotional distress
- goes into labour
They can also take leave when they need to:
- make longer-term care arrangements for a dependant who is ill or injured
- arrange or attend a dependant's funeral
- deal with an unexpected problem in care arrangements, eg, if a childminder is unexpectedly unavailable
- deal with an incident involving the employee's child during school hours, eg, suspension from school
How much time off can an employee take?
The right is to have reasonable time off. This amount of time isn't fixed - it should simply allow the employee to deal with the immediate problem and put any other necessary care arrangements in place.
For example, an employee would not normally be able to take two weeks off to care for a sick child, but they could take one or two days to take the child to the doctor and arrange for someone else to look after him or her.
Emergency time off and protection against detriment or dismissal
You must not:
- subject an employee to detrimental treatment for taking emergency time off
- dismiss an employee, or select them for redundancy, because they took, or sought to take, emergency leave
If an employee believes that you have treated them unfairly or dismissed them in these circumstances, they may take a claim of detrimental treatment or unfair dismissal to an industrial tribunal - regardless of their length of service.
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Childcare support for your staff
Informing your staff of available financial support for their childcare costs.
Promoting a family-friendly working environment can lead to a number of business benefits, including:
- savings on National Insurance contributions if offering financial childcare support, for example, childcare vouchers
- increased productivity
- reduced absenteeism
- attracting new staff
- retention of current staff
See Employers For Childcare's guidance on being a family-friendly employer.
Communicating family-friendly policies
It's a good idea to set out in writing, eg, in a staff handbook, the:
- statutory family-friendly rights to which employees are entitled
- enhancements to those rights, if any, that exist, and whether they are contractual or discretionary - you should exercise caution in using discretion to avoid complaints of discrimination
- procedures they need to follow if they wish to take up these rights
See Invest Northern Ireland Employers' Handbook and HR documents and templates.
These rights should - at the very least - include rights in relation to:
- shared parental leave and pay
- maternity leave and pay
- paternity leave and pay
- adoption leave and pay
- parental bereavement leave and pay
- parental leave entitlement
- time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants
- flexible working: the law and best practice
Allowing flexibility in your procedures
You should try to build some flexibility into your procedures to allow your employees the time they need to deal with their childcare responsibilities.
The charity Working Families has more help and advice on helping employees achieve a work-life balance: advice for employers on good working practices.
Financial support for childcare
There are a number of financial support schemes currently available to working parents. You should make your workers aware of these, including:
- Tax-Free Childcare - this allows eligible working families to claim 20% of their childcare costs, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child, per year (£4,000 for a child with a disability).
- Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme - this aims to reduce childcare costs of eligible working parents by 15% for children who have not yet started primary school. Parents must be claiming Tax-Free Childcare to receive the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy. Universal Credit claimants are not eligible for help under this scheme.
- Universal Credit - entitlement will depend on household circumstances but Universal Credit can pay up to 85% of registered childcare costs, up to a maximum of £1,014.63 per month for one child, and £1,739.37 per month for two or more children. Eligible parents claiming Universal Credit are also able to get help with their childcare upfront, so that they can more easily pay their next set of costs.
- Child Tax Credit - Tax Credits are being replaced by Universal Credit. It is now only possible to make a claim for Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit if you already receive the other type of Tax Credit.
- Childcare Vouchers - some employees may also benefit from Childcare Vouchers offered through their employer, but only if they are already availing of the scheme. It is now closed to new applicants. However, parents may be able to avail of another form of support, such as Tax-Free Childcare, if they are no longer eligible.
- Child Benefit - parents/guardians are eligible for Child Benefit if they are responsible for a child who is under 16 or under 20 years old if they stay in approved education or training. It is paid every four weeks and the current allowance is £25.60 per week for the eldest or only child; and £16.95 for every additional child.
Employees entitled to financial support towards childcare costs can only claim these benefits by using providers that are registered or approved with the Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland. There are different types of registered childcare available to parents, including:
- Registered childminder
- Day nursery
- Out of school care
- Approved home child carer
Find a list of all childcare providers registered and approved with the Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland.
Providing childcare provision
You may want to consider offering employees some form of childcare provision. This sort of employee benefit can improve:
- staff morale
- recruitment and retention
- the availability of employees
You can help with childcare in a number of ways, eg, by:
- Making staff aware of the financial support available to meet their childcare costs - see financial support for childcare above.
- Providing on-site childcare, ie, a workplace nursery.
- Offering childcare allowances - cash payments to allow employees to buy childcare services through a nursery or childminder.
See expenses and benefits: childcare.
Employer's guide to childcare
The Employer's Guide to Childcare highlights the financial support available to assist working parents with their registered childcare costs. The dedicated guidance also offers tips on how and when to engage with staff regarding childcare issues. There is also a list of contacts where employers and their staff can get further advice and help.
For further details, download Employer's Guide to Childcare - Supporting Employees to Access Childcare Support (PDF, 934K).
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Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies
In this guide:
- Trade union membership rights
- Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employers
- Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies
- Tribunal claims: unlawful refusal of employment or employment agency services on TU membership grounds
- Trade union membership rights in the workplace
- Tribunal claims: discrimination against workers on TU membership grounds
- Rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services
- Tribunal claims: discrimination regarding trade union activities and services
- Time-off rights for union officials and members
- Rights of union learning representatives
- Blacklisting of trade union members
- Current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits
Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employers
The right of job applicants not to be treated unfairly by a prospective employer as a result of trade union membership status.
An individual has the right not to be refused employment because:
- they are not a member of a trade union, or will not agree to become a member
- they are a member of a trade union or will not agree to cease being a member
- they will not agree to make a payment - eg to a union or charity - in lieu of union membership or to allow a prospective employer to deduct a sum of money from their pay to make such a payment
It is unlawful for an employer to refuse employment in contravention of any of these rights.
What types of employment are covered?
'Employment' means employment under a contract of service or apprenticeship.
It does not include self-employment under a contract for services.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' means:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
Refusal of employment
A person will be regarded as having been refused the employment they are seeking if the prospective employer or agent acting on the employer's behalf:
- refuses or deliberately omits to deal with their application or enquiry
- causes them to withdraw or stop pursuing their application or enquiry - eg by making threats or discouraging remarks
- refuses or deliberately omits to offer them employment of the kind they are seeking
- makes them an offer of employment of the kind they are seeking but on terms - eg the rate of pay - that no reasonable employer who wished to fill the vacancy would offer, and which is not accepted
- makes them an offer of employment of the kind they are seeking but withdraws it or causes them not to accept it - eg by making threats or discouraging remarks
Where a person is offered employment subject to any of the requirements listed below and they do not accept the offer because they do not satisfy the requirement, or are unwilling to comply with it, they will be regarded as having been unlawfully refused employment for that reason.
The requirements are that:
- they are or should remain a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to become a member of a trade union
- they are not, or should not become, a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to cease to be a member of a trade union
- they should make payments or suffer deductions in lieu of union membership
Job advertisements specifying union membership requirements
Where a job advertisement appears specifying any of the union membership or non-membership requirements listed above, a person who does not satisfy the requirements, or is unwilling to comply with them, and who applies for and is refused the job, will be presumed to have been refused it unlawfully.
'Advertisement' means every form of advertisement or notice, whether to the public or not. For example, it could be an advertisement in a newspaper or periodical, or a notice posted in or outside a factory.
Recruitment through trade unions
Where there is an arrangement or practice under which an employer recruits only people who have been supplied - ie put forward or approved - by a trade union from among its membership, a person who is not a member of the trade union concerned and who is refused the employment because they have not been supplied by the union, will be regarded as having been refused employment because they are not a union member.
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Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies
The right of job applicants not to be treated unfairly by an employment agency as a result of trade union membership status.
An individual has the right not to be refused the services of an employment agency because:
- they are not a member of a trade union, or will not agree to become a member
- they are a member of a trade union or will not agree to cease being a member
It is unlawful for an employment agency to refuse its services in contravention of any of these rights.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' means:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
What is meant by an 'employment agency'?
'Employment agency' means any person or organisation that provides services - whether for profit or not - for the purpose of finding employment for workers or supplying employers with workers.
A trade union is not regarded as an employment agency if it provides services only to its own members to assist them in finding employment.
However, if a trade union provides such services to non-members, it will be regarded as an employment agency.
Refusal of the services of an employment agency
A person who seeks to use the services of an employment agency will be regarded as having been refused that service if the agency:
- refuses or deliberately omits to make the service available to them
- does not provide the service to them on the same terms as it provides the service to other people
- causes them not to make use of the service, or to stop making use of it, eg by making threats or discouraging remarks
Where a person is offered the service of an employment agency, subject to any of the requirements listed below, and they do not accept the offer because they do not satisfy the requirement, or are unwilling to comply with it, they will be regarded as having been unlawfully refused the service for that reason.
The requirements are that:
- they are - or should - remain a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to become a member of a trade union
- they are not - or should not - become a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to cease being a member of a trade union
Employment agency advertisements specifying trade union membership requirements
Where an advertisement about the services of an employment agency specifies any of the union membership or non-membership requirements listed above, a person who does not satisfy the requirements or is unwilling to comply with them, and who seeks to use and is refused the services, will be presumed to have been refused them unlawfully.
'Advertisement' means every form of advertisement or notice, whether to the public or not. For example, it could be a list of job vacancies supplied by an employment agency to people who have registered with that agency.
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Tribunal claims: unlawful refusal of employment or employment agency services on TU membership grounds
Industrial tribunal claims where an individual has been refused employment or the services of an employment agency.
Individuals can make an industrial tribunal claim if they think they have been unlawfully refused employment or the services of an employment agency on trade union membership grounds - see trade union membership rights of job applicants - employers and trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies.
An individual - the claimant - can bring a claim against either or both a prospective employer and an employment agency where the claim arises out of the same situation.
If a claimant brings a claim against only one of them, either the employer/employment agency or the claimant can ask the tribunal to join the other - ie either the employment agency or employer - as a party to the proceedings.
A tribunal will grant such a request if it is made before the hearing begins. However, the tribunal may refuse the request if it is not made until after the start of the hearing. This 'request for joinder' cannot be made after the tribunal has decided whether or not the claim was well founded.
If a claimant brings a claim against both an employer and an employment agency or if joinder has been granted and the tribunal finds the claim to be well founded against both the employer and the agency, the tribunal can order any compensation it may award to be paid only by the employment agency, paid only by the employer or divided between the two.
Pressure exerted by a trade union or other person
If the prospective employer or employment agency claims that they were induced to act unlawfully by pressure exerted on them by a trade union or other person - eg by threatening or organising industrial action - they can ask the Industrial Tribunal to join the trade union or other person as a party to the proceedings.
The claimant can also ask that a trade union or other person be joined as a party to the proceedings if they believe that they induced the employer or employment agency by these means to act unlawfully.
A tribunal will grant such a request for joinder - made by either the prospective employer/employment agency or the claimant - if the request is made before the hearing begins. However, the tribunal may refuse the request if it is made after the start of the hearing.
A request for joinder cannot be made after the tribunal has decided whether or not the claim was well-founded.
Where a trade union or other person has been joined to the proceedings and the tribunal finds the claim to be well-founded, it will also consider whether pressure was exerted on the prospective employer or employment agency, as alleged.
If the tribunal finds that such pressure was exerted, it can order the trade union or other person to pay some or all of any compensation it may award.
Remedies for unlawful refusal of employment or the services of an employment agency
If a tribunal finds that an individual has been unlawfully refused employment or the services of an employment agency because of their membership or non-membership of a trade union, it will make a declaration to that effect.
The tribunal may also:
- award the claimant compensation to be paid by the prospective employer and/or employment agency
- recommend that the prospective employer or employment agency takes action to remedy the adverse effect of their unlawful refusal on the claimant, eg by recommending that the employer considers the claimant for a job vacancy
Compensation
The tribunal will assess and award compensation as it sees fit. It may include compensation for injury to feelings.
In cases where a claim is made and upheld against a party and they fail without reasonable justification to comply with a recommendation to take action, the tribunal may increase its award of compensation, or make an award if it has not already done so.
The amount of compensation payable, including any additional compensation awarded for failure to comply with a recommendation, is subject to an upper limit.
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Trade union membership rights in the workplace
The rights of those in work not to be treated unfairly as a result of trade union membership or non-membership.
You must not treat employees and other workers unfairly on the grounds of trade union membership or non-membership. Unfair treatment includes dismissal and subjecting a worker to a detriment.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' includes:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
What is meant by the term 'detriment'?
A person can be subjected to a detriment through either an act or a deliberate decision not to act by an employer. Whether a worker has suffered a detriment is for an industrial tribunal to decide.
Examples of a detriment include withholding a pay increase, discrimination in promotion, transfer or training opportunities, or threats of dismissal. For a worker who is not an employee, a detriment could also be ending their employment.
In addition, a detriment could be the failure to confer a benefit on a person who failed to accept an unlawful inducement that would have been conferred on them had they accepted the offer.
For example, if an employer offered £1,000 to workers with the sole or main purpose of inducing them to give up their trade union membership, any worker who did not accept that offer and was therefore not paid the £1,000 would have been subjected to a detriment of £1,000.
Right not to belong to a trade union
No person has to join or remain a member of, a trade union.
All employees have the right:
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for not belonging to a trade union or for refusing to join one
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for failing to accept an offer made by their employer with the sole or main purpose of inducing them to be or become a trade union member
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer (for not being or refusing to become a trade union member)
- not to be made an offer by their employer where the sole or main purpose of the employer is to induce them to be or to become a trade union member
- not to be subjected to a detriment for failing to accept such an offer
Right not to make payments in lieu of union membership
Employees have the right not to be dismissed for refusing to make a payment, eg to a union or a charity, in lieu of union membership or for objecting to their employer deducting a sum of money from their pay to make such a payment.
Employees and other workers have the right not to have other action taken by their employer to force them to make such a payment. If their employer deducts a sum of money from their pay, this counts as an action to force them to make such a payment.
Right to belong to a trade union
All employees have the right:
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for being a member of an independent trade union or for proposing to become a member
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for failing to accept an offer made by their employer with the sole or main purpose of inducing them not to be or become a trade union member
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer, to prevent or deter them from belonging to an independent trade union or from seeking to become a member, or to penalise them for doing so
- not to be made an offer by their employer where the sole or main purpose of the offer is to induce them not to be (or seek to become) a member
- not to be subjected to a detriment for failing to accept such an offer
Right of complaint to an Industrial Tribunal
Individuals who think that any of their rights as set out above have been infringed can make an industrial tribunal claim. For more information, see tribunal claims: discrimination against workers on TU membership grounds.
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Tribunal claims: discrimination against workers on TU membership grounds
Industrial tribunal claims when workers are discriminated against due to trade union membership.
Individuals who think that any of their rights (as set out in trade union membership rights in the workplace) have been infringed can make an Industrial Tribunal claim.
If an employee has been dismissed - including cases where they have been dismissed on grounds of redundancy - their claim is one of unfair dismissal.
If an employee or other worker considers that they have been subjected to a detriment by an act, or deliberate failure to act, by their employer, their claim is one of detriment.
For the detriment to be unlawful, the person must have been subjected to it with the intention of putting pressure on them in respect of non-membership or membership of a union, or for other unlawful purposes relating to failure to accept unlawful inducements.
If a worker believes that you have made an unlawful inducement relating to trade union membership as described above, their claim is one of unlawful inducement.
Pressure exerted by a trade union or other person
An employer who faces a claim of unfair dismissal may have dismissed the employee concerned as a result of pressure applied by a union or other person because the employee was not a member of a trade union. The pressure could be in the form of actual or threatened industrial action.
If the employer or the employee making the complaint claims this is so, either of them may make a request to the tribunal for the union or other person concerned to be joined - ie brought in as a party - to the proceedings.
A request by either an employer or a dismissed employee for a trade union or other person in unfair dismissal proceedings to be joined in this way will be granted by the tribunal if it is made before the hearing begins. However, the tribunal may refuse the request if it is made after the start of the hearing.
If the tribunal finds the dismissal unfair and the claim of pressure well founded, it may make any award of compensation wholly or partly against the union or other person concerned instead of - or as well as - against the employer.
Compensation
The compensatory awards for the claims in relation to union membership, non-membership, and unlawful inducements vary. For more information, see current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits.
Note that in cases where a worker makes a related claim to the tribunal concerning detriment and the tribunal upholds that claim, the tribunal may award compensation for the detriment suffered.
In deciding the amount of such compensation, a tribunal may not make a reduction on the ground that a complainant:
- contributed to their loss by accepting or not accepting an unlawful inducement
- has received or is entitled to an award on the grounds that an unlawful inducement has been made to them
Status of contractual changes resulting from unlawful inducements
If a worker has accepted an unlawful inducement, but any consequent agreement by them to vary their terms and conditions has not yet been effected, the agreement to vary the terms and conditions is not enforceable.
In such circumstances, the employer cannot recover any cash paid or other benefits conferred on the worker concerned.
However, in cases where the agreed variation of terms and conditions has been effected, those variations are enforceable.
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Rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services
The right of workers who are union members not to be treated unfairly when interacting with their union.
You must not treat employees and other workers unfairly on the grounds that they have taken part in the activities of the trade union to which they belong or have made use of their union's services at an appropriate time.
Unfair treatment includes dismissal and subjecting a worker to a detriment.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' includes:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
What is meant by the term 'detriment'?
Detriment can be either an act or a deliberate decision not to act by an employer. Whether an employee or other worker has suffered a detriment is for a tribunal to decide.
Examples of a detriment would be withholding a pay increase, discrimination in promotion, transfer or training opportunities, or threats of dismissal. For a worker who is not an employee, detriment could also take the form of dismissal.
In addition, a detriment could be the failure to confer a benefit on a person who failed to accept an unlawful inducement that would have been conferred on them had they accepted the offer.
For example, if an employer offered £1,000 to workers not to take advice from their union, any worker who did not accept that offer and was therefore not paid the £1,000 would have been subjected to a detriment of £1,000.
Right to take part in trade union activities
All employees have the following rights relating to their trade union activities:
- Not to be dismissed or selected for redundancy, for taking part - or proposing to take part - in the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time.
- Not to be dismissed or selected for redundancy because they failed to accept an offer made by their employer. The sole or main purpose of the offer must be to induce them not to take part in the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time.
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer to prevent or deter them from taking part in trade union activities at an appropriate time, or to penalise them for doing so
- not to be made an offer by their employer, the sole or main purpose of which is to induce them not to take part in an independent trade union's activities at an appropriate time
- not to be subjected to a detriment for failing to accept such an offer
The kinds of union activity a worker may take part in are not set out in law. However, union activities involving a worker acting on behalf of the union would be covered, eg a shop steward representing a union that is recognised for collective bargaining purposes or activities connected with the election or appointment of union officials.
Right to make use of trade union services
All employees have the following rights relating to the use they make of their union's services:
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for making use, or proposing to make use, of the services of an independent trade union at an appropriate time
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, because they failed to accept an offer made by their employer, the sole or main purpose of which was to induce them not to use the services of an independent trade union at an appropriate time
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer to prevent or deter them from using their union's services at an appropriate time or to penalise them for doing so
- not to be made an offer by their employer, the sole or main purpose of which is to induce them not to make use of an independent trade union's services at an appropriate time
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer for failing to accept such an offer
'Trade union services' are services made available to an employee or other worker by virtue of their membership of an independent trade union. They include the union agreeing to raise a matter on behalf of the employee or other worker by, for example, writing to the employer about a grievance.
However, such services do not include having a member's terms and conditions determined by collective agreement.
The 'appropriate time' for the union member to take part in union activities or to make use of their union's services is time either:
- outside the member's working hours - this could cover activities that take place or services which are used when the person is on the employer's premises but not actually required to be working, eg during lunch breaks
- within the member's working hours where the employer has agreed that the worker may take part in trade union activities or use the trade union's services
Rights to reasonable time off for trade union duties and activities also exist where an employer recognises a union for collective bargaining. For more information on collective bargaining, see meaning and types of trade union recognition.
Right of complaint to an Industrial Tribunal
Individuals who think that any of their rights as set out above have been infringed can complain to an industrial tribunal. See tribunal claims: discrimination regarding trade union activities and services.
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Tribunal claims: discrimination regarding trade union activities and services
Industrial tribunal claims due to discrimination relating to trade union activities and services.
Individuals who think that any of their rights (as in rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services) have been infringed can complain to an industrial tribunal.
If an employee has been dismissed - including cases where they have been dismissed on grounds of redundancy - their complaint is one of unfair dismissal.
If employees or other workers consider that they have been subjected to a detriment by an act, or deliberate failure to act, by their employer, their complaint is one of detriment.
If employees or other workers consider that you have made an unlawful inducement relating to trade union activities and services, their complaint is one of unlawful inducement.
Compensation
The compensatory awards for the claims in relation to dismissal and detriment vary. A tribunal can make an award to an individual for claims of unlawful inducements in relation to trade union membership/non-membership, activities, or collective bargaining. For more information, see current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits.
Note that in cases where an employee or other worker makes a related complaint to the tribunal concerning detriment, and the tribunal upholds that complaint, the tribunal may award compensation for the detriment suffered.
In deciding the amount of such compensation, a tribunal may not make a reduction on the ground that a complainant:
- contributed to their loss by accepting or not accepting an unlawful inducement
- has received or is entitled to an award on the grounds that an unlawful inducement has been made to them
Status of contractual changes resulting from unlawful inducements
If an employee or other worker accepts an unlawful inducement, but any consequent agreement by them to vary their terms and conditions has not yet been effected, the agreement to vary the terms and conditions is not enforceable.
Also, in such circumstances, the employer cannot recover any cash paid or other benefits conferred on the employee or worker concerned.
However, in cases where the agreed variation of terms and conditions has been effected, those variations are enforceable.
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Time-off rights for union officials and members
Rights to time off for union duties and activities and the circumstances under which this should be paid time off.
Trade union officials and members have rights to time off under certain circumstances. The time off may or may not be paid.
The right to paid time off for union duties
You must give an employee who is an official of a recognised union reasonable paid time off:
- to carry out their union duties
- for training related to union duties
A trade union official's typical duties may include:
- recruiting, organising and representing members of a trade union, either individually or collectively
- attending meetings with members of the workforce and management
- accompanying workers to disciplinary and grievance hearings
- negotiating with the employer on terms and conditions of employment or matters of discipline
The right to time off for union activities
You must give union officials and members reasonable unpaid time off for carrying out union activities.
Such activities might include:
- voting in union elections
- meeting full-time officials to discuss issues relevant to the workplace
- attending workplace meetings to discuss and vote on the outcome of negotiations
Right of complaint to an Industrial Tribunal
Individuals who think that any of these rights have been infringed can complain to an industrial tribunal.
If the tribunal finds the complaint well founded, it will make a declaration to that effect and award compensation as it sees fit.
In cases where the employer has failed to pay the employee for the time off, it will order the employer to pay the amount due.
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Rights of union learning representatives
The rights of union learning representatives, including arranging and undertaking training.
What are union learning representatives?
Union learning representatives have the same status as union officials and are allowed paid time off to carry out their duties.
Union learning representatives are:
- representatives of a recognised union who provide advice to union members about their training, educational, and developmental needs
- elected or appointed in accordance with the union's rules
- trained in line with statutory training conditions
- notified to the employer in writing
Rights of union learning representatives
Union learning representatives have a legal right to reasonable paid time off during working hours to carry out their duties, which may include:
- undertaking relevant training
- analysing the learning or training needs of union members
- providing information and advice on learning or training
- arranging learning or training
- consulting the employer about learning and training
- preparing for the above
The law does not assign a negotiating role to union learning representatives. However, some employers have voluntarily negotiated learning agreements with their union learning representatives.
Advantages of union learning representatives for employers
Union learning representatives can be a source of expert advice. They cost you comparatively little and can help with identifying the training needs of staff and encouraging a learning culture within the company.
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Blacklisting of trade union members
Description of the law that prohibits the blacklisting of trade unionists.
From 6 April 2014 the Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 came into operation which prohibits the blacklisting of trade unionists.
The Regulations make it unlawful to compile, supply, sell or use a 'prohibited list' (ie a blacklist).
Employers and employment agencies cannot:
- refuse a person employment for a reason related to a blacklist
- dismiss an employee for a reason related to a blacklist
- subject a person to any other detriment for a reason related to a blacklist
- refuse the services of an employment agency to a person for a reason related to a blacklist.
What is a blacklist?
A blacklist must:
- Contain 'details' about current or former trade union members or of persons who are taking part or have taken part in trade union activities. These 'details' could include names, addresses, National Insurance numbers, occupations or work histories.
- Have been compiled for employers or employment agencies to use in order to discriminate on grounds of trade union membership or activities when recruiting or during employment.
Blacklists would include any index or other set of items whether recorded manually, electronically or in other forms, and can include haphazard or unstructured collections of information with a common connection - such as a shared purpose.
You can act unlawfully if you indirectly access a blacklist. It may not be a defence for you to claim that you did not know you were using information from a blacklist.
Everyone on a blacklist is protected, even non-trade union members.
There are some incidences where the law does not prohibit blacklists. It is lawful if you:
- Supply a blacklist in circumstances where you could not reasonably be expected to know it was a prohibited list.
- Compile, supply or use a blacklist in order to draw attention to possible or actual blacklisting activity. For this to apply, no information about the person on the list should have been published without their consent, and the activity is justified in the public interest.
- Compiled, sold, supplied or used a prohibited list for the sole or main purpose of appointing or electing an office-holder in a trade union; or appointing a person to a post or office where the appointee must have experience or knowledge of trade unions, and it is reasonable to apply such a requirement.
- Compile, sell, supply or use a blacklist to comply with a statutory or legal requirement or to obey a court order.
It is also lawful to access a blacklist either:
- in connection with legal proceedings
- to obtain or provide legal advice about blacklisting compliance
Industrial Tribunal claims
If an employer is suspected of blacklisting, or an employment agency refuses employment based on blacklist information, they could be taken to an industrial tribunal.
If successful in an Industrial Tribunal, the claimant could be awarded compensation.
Court claims
A claim to a court can be made by anyone if they have suffered loss or been threatened by a potential loss.
If a complaint is successful, the court can award damages and compensation for injury to feelings. They are also empowered to make orders to stop organisations from blacklisting or using blacklists.
An individual cannot make a complaint to an Industrial Tribunal and the court in relation to the same conduct. However, if a complaint is made to an industrial tribunal, the same complainant could also ask the court to restrain or prevent an employer from blacklisting.
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Current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits
Minimum and maximum amounts that may be ordered to be paid by a tribunal.
The following table lists the different tribunal and arbitration compensation awards and the most recent changes to their limits in the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025.
Table of increase of limits
Compensation From 6 April 2024 From 6 April 2025 Maximum basic award for unfair dismissal (30 weeks' pay, subject to the limit on a week's pay) £21,870 £22,470 Minimum additional award for failure to comply with a tribunal's order to reinstate or re-employ an employee who has been unfairly dismissed (26 weeks' pay, subject to the limit on a week's pay) £18,954 £19,474 Maximum additional award for failure to comply with a tribunal's order to reinstate or re-employ an employee who has been unfairly dismissed (52 weeks' pay, subject to the limit on a week's pay) £37,908 £38,948 Maximum amount of 'a week's pay' for the purpose of calculating a redundancy payment or for various awards including the basic or additional award of compensation for unfair dismissal £729 £749 Minimum amount of basic award of compensation where dismissal is unfair £8,863 £9,102 Limit on amount of compensatory award for unfair dismissal £115,341 £118,455 Limit on guarantee pay (per day) £38 £39 Amount of award for unlawful inducement relating to trade union membership, activities, or services, or for unlawful inducement relating to collective bargaining £5,861 £6,019 Minimum amount of compensation where an individual is expelled from a union in contravention of Article 38 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and not readmitted by date of tribunal application £13,292 £13,651 Limit on amount in respect of any one week payable to an employee in respect of debt to which Part XIV of the 1996 Order applies and which is referable to a period of time £729 £749
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Rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services
In this guide:
- Trade union membership rights
- Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employers
- Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies
- Tribunal claims: unlawful refusal of employment or employment agency services on TU membership grounds
- Trade union membership rights in the workplace
- Tribunal claims: discrimination against workers on TU membership grounds
- Rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services
- Tribunal claims: discrimination regarding trade union activities and services
- Time-off rights for union officials and members
- Rights of union learning representatives
- Blacklisting of trade union members
- Current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits
Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employers
The right of job applicants not to be treated unfairly by a prospective employer as a result of trade union membership status.
An individual has the right not to be refused employment because:
- they are not a member of a trade union, or will not agree to become a member
- they are a member of a trade union or will not agree to cease being a member
- they will not agree to make a payment - eg to a union or charity - in lieu of union membership or to allow a prospective employer to deduct a sum of money from their pay to make such a payment
It is unlawful for an employer to refuse employment in contravention of any of these rights.
What types of employment are covered?
'Employment' means employment under a contract of service or apprenticeship.
It does not include self-employment under a contract for services.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' means:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
Refusal of employment
A person will be regarded as having been refused the employment they are seeking if the prospective employer or agent acting on the employer's behalf:
- refuses or deliberately omits to deal with their application or enquiry
- causes them to withdraw or stop pursuing their application or enquiry - eg by making threats or discouraging remarks
- refuses or deliberately omits to offer them employment of the kind they are seeking
- makes them an offer of employment of the kind they are seeking but on terms - eg the rate of pay - that no reasonable employer who wished to fill the vacancy would offer, and which is not accepted
- makes them an offer of employment of the kind they are seeking but withdraws it or causes them not to accept it - eg by making threats or discouraging remarks
Where a person is offered employment subject to any of the requirements listed below and they do not accept the offer because they do not satisfy the requirement, or are unwilling to comply with it, they will be regarded as having been unlawfully refused employment for that reason.
The requirements are that:
- they are or should remain a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to become a member of a trade union
- they are not, or should not become, a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to cease to be a member of a trade union
- they should make payments or suffer deductions in lieu of union membership
Job advertisements specifying union membership requirements
Where a job advertisement appears specifying any of the union membership or non-membership requirements listed above, a person who does not satisfy the requirements, or is unwilling to comply with them, and who applies for and is refused the job, will be presumed to have been refused it unlawfully.
'Advertisement' means every form of advertisement or notice, whether to the public or not. For example, it could be an advertisement in a newspaper or periodical, or a notice posted in or outside a factory.
Recruitment through trade unions
Where there is an arrangement or practice under which an employer recruits only people who have been supplied - ie put forward or approved - by a trade union from among its membership, a person who is not a member of the trade union concerned and who is refused the employment because they have not been supplied by the union, will be regarded as having been refused employment because they are not a union member.
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Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies
The right of job applicants not to be treated unfairly by an employment agency as a result of trade union membership status.
An individual has the right not to be refused the services of an employment agency because:
- they are not a member of a trade union, or will not agree to become a member
- they are a member of a trade union or will not agree to cease being a member
It is unlawful for an employment agency to refuse its services in contravention of any of these rights.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' means:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
What is meant by an 'employment agency'?
'Employment agency' means any person or organisation that provides services - whether for profit or not - for the purpose of finding employment for workers or supplying employers with workers.
A trade union is not regarded as an employment agency if it provides services only to its own members to assist them in finding employment.
However, if a trade union provides such services to non-members, it will be regarded as an employment agency.
Refusal of the services of an employment agency
A person who seeks to use the services of an employment agency will be regarded as having been refused that service if the agency:
- refuses or deliberately omits to make the service available to them
- does not provide the service to them on the same terms as it provides the service to other people
- causes them not to make use of the service, or to stop making use of it, eg by making threats or discouraging remarks
Where a person is offered the service of an employment agency, subject to any of the requirements listed below, and they do not accept the offer because they do not satisfy the requirement, or are unwilling to comply with it, they will be regarded as having been unlawfully refused the service for that reason.
The requirements are that:
- they are - or should - remain a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to become a member of a trade union
- they are not - or should not - become a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to cease being a member of a trade union
Employment agency advertisements specifying trade union membership requirements
Where an advertisement about the services of an employment agency specifies any of the union membership or non-membership requirements listed above, a person who does not satisfy the requirements or is unwilling to comply with them, and who seeks to use and is refused the services, will be presumed to have been refused them unlawfully.
'Advertisement' means every form of advertisement or notice, whether to the public or not. For example, it could be a list of job vacancies supplied by an employment agency to people who have registered with that agency.
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Tribunal claims: unlawful refusal of employment or employment agency services on TU membership grounds
Industrial tribunal claims where an individual has been refused employment or the services of an employment agency.
Individuals can make an industrial tribunal claim if they think they have been unlawfully refused employment or the services of an employment agency on trade union membership grounds - see trade union membership rights of job applicants - employers and trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies.
An individual - the claimant - can bring a claim against either or both a prospective employer and an employment agency where the claim arises out of the same situation.
If a claimant brings a claim against only one of them, either the employer/employment agency or the claimant can ask the tribunal to join the other - ie either the employment agency or employer - as a party to the proceedings.
A tribunal will grant such a request if it is made before the hearing begins. However, the tribunal may refuse the request if it is not made until after the start of the hearing. This 'request for joinder' cannot be made after the tribunal has decided whether or not the claim was well founded.
If a claimant brings a claim against both an employer and an employment agency or if joinder has been granted and the tribunal finds the claim to be well founded against both the employer and the agency, the tribunal can order any compensation it may award to be paid only by the employment agency, paid only by the employer or divided between the two.
Pressure exerted by a trade union or other person
If the prospective employer or employment agency claims that they were induced to act unlawfully by pressure exerted on them by a trade union or other person - eg by threatening or organising industrial action - they can ask the Industrial Tribunal to join the trade union or other person as a party to the proceedings.
The claimant can also ask that a trade union or other person be joined as a party to the proceedings if they believe that they induced the employer or employment agency by these means to act unlawfully.
A tribunal will grant such a request for joinder - made by either the prospective employer/employment agency or the claimant - if the request is made before the hearing begins. However, the tribunal may refuse the request if it is made after the start of the hearing.
A request for joinder cannot be made after the tribunal has decided whether or not the claim was well-founded.
Where a trade union or other person has been joined to the proceedings and the tribunal finds the claim to be well-founded, it will also consider whether pressure was exerted on the prospective employer or employment agency, as alleged.
If the tribunal finds that such pressure was exerted, it can order the trade union or other person to pay some or all of any compensation it may award.
Remedies for unlawful refusal of employment or the services of an employment agency
If a tribunal finds that an individual has been unlawfully refused employment or the services of an employment agency because of their membership or non-membership of a trade union, it will make a declaration to that effect.
The tribunal may also:
- award the claimant compensation to be paid by the prospective employer and/or employment agency
- recommend that the prospective employer or employment agency takes action to remedy the adverse effect of their unlawful refusal on the claimant, eg by recommending that the employer considers the claimant for a job vacancy
Compensation
The tribunal will assess and award compensation as it sees fit. It may include compensation for injury to feelings.
In cases where a claim is made and upheld against a party and they fail without reasonable justification to comply with a recommendation to take action, the tribunal may increase its award of compensation, or make an award if it has not already done so.
The amount of compensation payable, including any additional compensation awarded for failure to comply with a recommendation, is subject to an upper limit.
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Trade union membership rights in the workplace
The rights of those in work not to be treated unfairly as a result of trade union membership or non-membership.
You must not treat employees and other workers unfairly on the grounds of trade union membership or non-membership. Unfair treatment includes dismissal and subjecting a worker to a detriment.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' includes:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
What is meant by the term 'detriment'?
A person can be subjected to a detriment through either an act or a deliberate decision not to act by an employer. Whether a worker has suffered a detriment is for an industrial tribunal to decide.
Examples of a detriment include withholding a pay increase, discrimination in promotion, transfer or training opportunities, or threats of dismissal. For a worker who is not an employee, a detriment could also be ending their employment.
In addition, a detriment could be the failure to confer a benefit on a person who failed to accept an unlawful inducement that would have been conferred on them had they accepted the offer.
For example, if an employer offered £1,000 to workers with the sole or main purpose of inducing them to give up their trade union membership, any worker who did not accept that offer and was therefore not paid the £1,000 would have been subjected to a detriment of £1,000.
Right not to belong to a trade union
No person has to join or remain a member of, a trade union.
All employees have the right:
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for not belonging to a trade union or for refusing to join one
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for failing to accept an offer made by their employer with the sole or main purpose of inducing them to be or become a trade union member
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer (for not being or refusing to become a trade union member)
- not to be made an offer by their employer where the sole or main purpose of the employer is to induce them to be or to become a trade union member
- not to be subjected to a detriment for failing to accept such an offer
Right not to make payments in lieu of union membership
Employees have the right not to be dismissed for refusing to make a payment, eg to a union or a charity, in lieu of union membership or for objecting to their employer deducting a sum of money from their pay to make such a payment.
Employees and other workers have the right not to have other action taken by their employer to force them to make such a payment. If their employer deducts a sum of money from their pay, this counts as an action to force them to make such a payment.
Right to belong to a trade union
All employees have the right:
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for being a member of an independent trade union or for proposing to become a member
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for failing to accept an offer made by their employer with the sole or main purpose of inducing them not to be or become a trade union member
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer, to prevent or deter them from belonging to an independent trade union or from seeking to become a member, or to penalise them for doing so
- not to be made an offer by their employer where the sole or main purpose of the offer is to induce them not to be (or seek to become) a member
- not to be subjected to a detriment for failing to accept such an offer
Right of complaint to an Industrial Tribunal
Individuals who think that any of their rights as set out above have been infringed can make an industrial tribunal claim. For more information, see tribunal claims: discrimination against workers on TU membership grounds.
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Tribunal claims: discrimination against workers on TU membership grounds
Industrial tribunal claims when workers are discriminated against due to trade union membership.
Individuals who think that any of their rights (as set out in trade union membership rights in the workplace) have been infringed can make an Industrial Tribunal claim.
If an employee has been dismissed - including cases where they have been dismissed on grounds of redundancy - their claim is one of unfair dismissal.
If an employee or other worker considers that they have been subjected to a detriment by an act, or deliberate failure to act, by their employer, their claim is one of detriment.
For the detriment to be unlawful, the person must have been subjected to it with the intention of putting pressure on them in respect of non-membership or membership of a union, or for other unlawful purposes relating to failure to accept unlawful inducements.
If a worker believes that you have made an unlawful inducement relating to trade union membership as described above, their claim is one of unlawful inducement.
Pressure exerted by a trade union or other person
An employer who faces a claim of unfair dismissal may have dismissed the employee concerned as a result of pressure applied by a union or other person because the employee was not a member of a trade union. The pressure could be in the form of actual or threatened industrial action.
If the employer or the employee making the complaint claims this is so, either of them may make a request to the tribunal for the union or other person concerned to be joined - ie brought in as a party - to the proceedings.
A request by either an employer or a dismissed employee for a trade union or other person in unfair dismissal proceedings to be joined in this way will be granted by the tribunal if it is made before the hearing begins. However, the tribunal may refuse the request if it is made after the start of the hearing.
If the tribunal finds the dismissal unfair and the claim of pressure well founded, it may make any award of compensation wholly or partly against the union or other person concerned instead of - or as well as - against the employer.
Compensation
The compensatory awards for the claims in relation to union membership, non-membership, and unlawful inducements vary. For more information, see current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits.
Note that in cases where a worker makes a related claim to the tribunal concerning detriment and the tribunal upholds that claim, the tribunal may award compensation for the detriment suffered.
In deciding the amount of such compensation, a tribunal may not make a reduction on the ground that a complainant:
- contributed to their loss by accepting or not accepting an unlawful inducement
- has received or is entitled to an award on the grounds that an unlawful inducement has been made to them
Status of contractual changes resulting from unlawful inducements
If a worker has accepted an unlawful inducement, but any consequent agreement by them to vary their terms and conditions has not yet been effected, the agreement to vary the terms and conditions is not enforceable.
In such circumstances, the employer cannot recover any cash paid or other benefits conferred on the worker concerned.
However, in cases where the agreed variation of terms and conditions has been effected, those variations are enforceable.
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Rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services
The right of workers who are union members not to be treated unfairly when interacting with their union.
You must not treat employees and other workers unfairly on the grounds that they have taken part in the activities of the trade union to which they belong or have made use of their union's services at an appropriate time.
Unfair treatment includes dismissal and subjecting a worker to a detriment.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' includes:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
What is meant by the term 'detriment'?
Detriment can be either an act or a deliberate decision not to act by an employer. Whether an employee or other worker has suffered a detriment is for a tribunal to decide.
Examples of a detriment would be withholding a pay increase, discrimination in promotion, transfer or training opportunities, or threats of dismissal. For a worker who is not an employee, detriment could also take the form of dismissal.
In addition, a detriment could be the failure to confer a benefit on a person who failed to accept an unlawful inducement that would have been conferred on them had they accepted the offer.
For example, if an employer offered £1,000 to workers not to take advice from their union, any worker who did not accept that offer and was therefore not paid the £1,000 would have been subjected to a detriment of £1,000.
Right to take part in trade union activities
All employees have the following rights relating to their trade union activities:
- Not to be dismissed or selected for redundancy, for taking part - or proposing to take part - in the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time.
- Not to be dismissed or selected for redundancy because they failed to accept an offer made by their employer. The sole or main purpose of the offer must be to induce them not to take part in the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time.
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer to prevent or deter them from taking part in trade union activities at an appropriate time, or to penalise them for doing so
- not to be made an offer by their employer, the sole or main purpose of which is to induce them not to take part in an independent trade union's activities at an appropriate time
- not to be subjected to a detriment for failing to accept such an offer
The kinds of union activity a worker may take part in are not set out in law. However, union activities involving a worker acting on behalf of the union would be covered, eg a shop steward representing a union that is recognised for collective bargaining purposes or activities connected with the election or appointment of union officials.
Right to make use of trade union services
All employees have the following rights relating to the use they make of their union's services:
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for making use, or proposing to make use, of the services of an independent trade union at an appropriate time
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, because they failed to accept an offer made by their employer, the sole or main purpose of which was to induce them not to use the services of an independent trade union at an appropriate time
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer to prevent or deter them from using their union's services at an appropriate time or to penalise them for doing so
- not to be made an offer by their employer, the sole or main purpose of which is to induce them not to make use of an independent trade union's services at an appropriate time
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer for failing to accept such an offer
'Trade union services' are services made available to an employee or other worker by virtue of their membership of an independent trade union. They include the union agreeing to raise a matter on behalf of the employee or other worker by, for example, writing to the employer about a grievance.
However, such services do not include having a member's terms and conditions determined by collective agreement.
The 'appropriate time' for the union member to take part in union activities or to make use of their union's services is time either:
- outside the member's working hours - this could cover activities that take place or services which are used when the person is on the employer's premises but not actually required to be working, eg during lunch breaks
- within the member's working hours where the employer has agreed that the worker may take part in trade union activities or use the trade union's services
Rights to reasonable time off for trade union duties and activities also exist where an employer recognises a union for collective bargaining. For more information on collective bargaining, see meaning and types of trade union recognition.
Right of complaint to an Industrial Tribunal
Individuals who think that any of their rights as set out above have been infringed can complain to an industrial tribunal. See tribunal claims: discrimination regarding trade union activities and services.
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Tribunal claims: discrimination regarding trade union activities and services
Industrial tribunal claims due to discrimination relating to trade union activities and services.
Individuals who think that any of their rights (as in rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services) have been infringed can complain to an industrial tribunal.
If an employee has been dismissed - including cases where they have been dismissed on grounds of redundancy - their complaint is one of unfair dismissal.
If employees or other workers consider that they have been subjected to a detriment by an act, or deliberate failure to act, by their employer, their complaint is one of detriment.
If employees or other workers consider that you have made an unlawful inducement relating to trade union activities and services, their complaint is one of unlawful inducement.
Compensation
The compensatory awards for the claims in relation to dismissal and detriment vary. A tribunal can make an award to an individual for claims of unlawful inducements in relation to trade union membership/non-membership, activities, or collective bargaining. For more information, see current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits.
Note that in cases where an employee or other worker makes a related complaint to the tribunal concerning detriment, and the tribunal upholds that complaint, the tribunal may award compensation for the detriment suffered.
In deciding the amount of such compensation, a tribunal may not make a reduction on the ground that a complainant:
- contributed to their loss by accepting or not accepting an unlawful inducement
- has received or is entitled to an award on the grounds that an unlawful inducement has been made to them
Status of contractual changes resulting from unlawful inducements
If an employee or other worker accepts an unlawful inducement, but any consequent agreement by them to vary their terms and conditions has not yet been effected, the agreement to vary the terms and conditions is not enforceable.
Also, in such circumstances, the employer cannot recover any cash paid or other benefits conferred on the employee or worker concerned.
However, in cases where the agreed variation of terms and conditions has been effected, those variations are enforceable.
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Time-off rights for union officials and members
Rights to time off for union duties and activities and the circumstances under which this should be paid time off.
Trade union officials and members have rights to time off under certain circumstances. The time off may or may not be paid.
The right to paid time off for union duties
You must give an employee who is an official of a recognised union reasonable paid time off:
- to carry out their union duties
- for training related to union duties
A trade union official's typical duties may include:
- recruiting, organising and representing members of a trade union, either individually or collectively
- attending meetings with members of the workforce and management
- accompanying workers to disciplinary and grievance hearings
- negotiating with the employer on terms and conditions of employment or matters of discipline
The right to time off for union activities
You must give union officials and members reasonable unpaid time off for carrying out union activities.
Such activities might include:
- voting in union elections
- meeting full-time officials to discuss issues relevant to the workplace
- attending workplace meetings to discuss and vote on the outcome of negotiations
Right of complaint to an Industrial Tribunal
Individuals who think that any of these rights have been infringed can complain to an industrial tribunal.
If the tribunal finds the complaint well founded, it will make a declaration to that effect and award compensation as it sees fit.
In cases where the employer has failed to pay the employee for the time off, it will order the employer to pay the amount due.
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Rights of union learning representatives
The rights of union learning representatives, including arranging and undertaking training.
What are union learning representatives?
Union learning representatives have the same status as union officials and are allowed paid time off to carry out their duties.
Union learning representatives are:
- representatives of a recognised union who provide advice to union members about their training, educational, and developmental needs
- elected or appointed in accordance with the union's rules
- trained in line with statutory training conditions
- notified to the employer in writing
Rights of union learning representatives
Union learning representatives have a legal right to reasonable paid time off during working hours to carry out their duties, which may include:
- undertaking relevant training
- analysing the learning or training needs of union members
- providing information and advice on learning or training
- arranging learning or training
- consulting the employer about learning and training
- preparing for the above
The law does not assign a negotiating role to union learning representatives. However, some employers have voluntarily negotiated learning agreements with their union learning representatives.
Advantages of union learning representatives for employers
Union learning representatives can be a source of expert advice. They cost you comparatively little and can help with identifying the training needs of staff and encouraging a learning culture within the company.
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Blacklisting of trade union members
Description of the law that prohibits the blacklisting of trade unionists.
From 6 April 2014 the Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 came into operation which prohibits the blacklisting of trade unionists.
The Regulations make it unlawful to compile, supply, sell or use a 'prohibited list' (ie a blacklist).
Employers and employment agencies cannot:
- refuse a person employment for a reason related to a blacklist
- dismiss an employee for a reason related to a blacklist
- subject a person to any other detriment for a reason related to a blacklist
- refuse the services of an employment agency to a person for a reason related to a blacklist.
What is a blacklist?
A blacklist must:
- Contain 'details' about current or former trade union members or of persons who are taking part or have taken part in trade union activities. These 'details' could include names, addresses, National Insurance numbers, occupations or work histories.
- Have been compiled for employers or employment agencies to use in order to discriminate on grounds of trade union membership or activities when recruiting or during employment.
Blacklists would include any index or other set of items whether recorded manually, electronically or in other forms, and can include haphazard or unstructured collections of information with a common connection - such as a shared purpose.
You can act unlawfully if you indirectly access a blacklist. It may not be a defence for you to claim that you did not know you were using information from a blacklist.
Everyone on a blacklist is protected, even non-trade union members.
There are some incidences where the law does not prohibit blacklists. It is lawful if you:
- Supply a blacklist in circumstances where you could not reasonably be expected to know it was a prohibited list.
- Compile, supply or use a blacklist in order to draw attention to possible or actual blacklisting activity. For this to apply, no information about the person on the list should have been published without their consent, and the activity is justified in the public interest.
- Compiled, sold, supplied or used a prohibited list for the sole or main purpose of appointing or electing an office-holder in a trade union; or appointing a person to a post or office where the appointee must have experience or knowledge of trade unions, and it is reasonable to apply such a requirement.
- Compile, sell, supply or use a blacklist to comply with a statutory or legal requirement or to obey a court order.
It is also lawful to access a blacklist either:
- in connection with legal proceedings
- to obtain or provide legal advice about blacklisting compliance
Industrial Tribunal claims
If an employer is suspected of blacklisting, or an employment agency refuses employment based on blacklist information, they could be taken to an industrial tribunal.
If successful in an Industrial Tribunal, the claimant could be awarded compensation.
Court claims
A claim to a court can be made by anyone if they have suffered loss or been threatened by a potential loss.
If a complaint is successful, the court can award damages and compensation for injury to feelings. They are also empowered to make orders to stop organisations from blacklisting or using blacklists.
An individual cannot make a complaint to an Industrial Tribunal and the court in relation to the same conduct. However, if a complaint is made to an industrial tribunal, the same complainant could also ask the court to restrain or prevent an employer from blacklisting.
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Current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits
Minimum and maximum amounts that may be ordered to be paid by a tribunal.
The following table lists the different tribunal and arbitration compensation awards and the most recent changes to their limits in the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025.
Table of increase of limits
Compensation From 6 April 2024 From 6 April 2025 Maximum basic award for unfair dismissal (30 weeks' pay, subject to the limit on a week's pay) £21,870 £22,470 Minimum additional award for failure to comply with a tribunal's order to reinstate or re-employ an employee who has been unfairly dismissed (26 weeks' pay, subject to the limit on a week's pay) £18,954 £19,474 Maximum additional award for failure to comply with a tribunal's order to reinstate or re-employ an employee who has been unfairly dismissed (52 weeks' pay, subject to the limit on a week's pay) £37,908 £38,948 Maximum amount of 'a week's pay' for the purpose of calculating a redundancy payment or for various awards including the basic or additional award of compensation for unfair dismissal £729 £749 Minimum amount of basic award of compensation where dismissal is unfair £8,863 £9,102 Limit on amount of compensatory award for unfair dismissal £115,341 £118,455 Limit on guarantee pay (per day) £38 £39 Amount of award for unlawful inducement relating to trade union membership, activities, or services, or for unlawful inducement relating to collective bargaining £5,861 £6,019 Minimum amount of compensation where an individual is expelled from a union in contravention of Article 38 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and not readmitted by date of tribunal application £13,292 £13,651 Limit on amount in respect of any one week payable to an employee in respect of debt to which Part XIV of the 1996 Order applies and which is referable to a period of time £729 £749
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Changing an employee's working hours
Advantages of employing part-time workers
The benefits to employers of employing a part-time worker.
Employing part-time workers has a range of potential business benefits, such as:
- being an efficient way to keep costs down in areas where you don't yet need full-time cover
- increasing recruitment and retention of staff by offering family-friendly working practices
- being able to show potential clients and customers that you value having a diverse workforce and ethical employment practices
- allowing you to bring in highly skilled and experienced staff members even when you have a fixed budget and can't afford to bring someone in on a full-time basis
- expanding the pool of potential recruits - part-time work tends to attract parents with younger children and older people, who may not want to work full-time but can bring a wealth of skills, experience, and expertise
- increasing the ability of your business to respond to change and peaks of demands - for example, you can use more workers at peak times and extend your operating hours by using part-time workers in the evening or at weekends
- helping to reduce the workloads of other workers, eg when you don't have enough work for a new full-time position but are regularly using overtime to meet demands - this can reduce your overtime costs and help prevent the negative effects of stress and fatigue
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Options for part-time working
Considering term-time-only workers and job sharing as options for part-time working.
The most obvious form of part-time working is where the worker simply works fewer than the normal basic full-time hours.
For example, they could work:
- every weekday morning, afternoon or evening
- a full day every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
- weekend shifts and the occasional evening shift in the week
However, there are other part-time working options that may suit your business needs:
- term-time-only workers tend to be parents who work during term time and take paid or unpaid leave during school holidays
- job-sharing is where two or more people share the responsibilities, pay and benefits of a full-time job - see introducing job-sharing
Alternatives to part-time working
If you feel that part-time working doesn't suit a particular job or your business as a whole, you could consider other types of flexible working.
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Recruiting and managing part-time workers
How employers can bring part-time workers into their business.
If you decide to employ part-time workers, you should ensure that:
- the roles suit part-time working arrangements
- your recruitment process is convenient for potential candidates
- you can effectively communicate with and manage part-time workers
Designing part-time jobs
When designing a job for a part-time worker, you first need to specify what you want the jobholder to achieve.
Think carefully about the tasks that they need to do to achieve these objectives. These will determine how much flexibility there is around the hours the jobholder must work.
When determining working hours, consider:
- how much time is needed to do each task
- whether the tasks require someone to work at a specific time or can be done at any time
- how the jobholder will fit into the existing structure of your business
It is important to consider the skills and personal attributes needed to perform the role effectively and specify these in the person specification.
Do not include any requirements that are not necessary to succeed in the post and that might exclude some candidates.
Recruiting for part-time jobs
When advertising for jobs, make it clear whether the job is either purely part-time or part of a job-share - see introducing job-sharing.
Think creatively about how to reach experienced workers who may be looking for part-time work, eg parents with young children, carers, and older people.
Try to arrange interviews and other stages of the recruitment process at times that are convenient for those applying for the job, eg if the job is for part-time evening work, hold interviews during the evening.
Managing part-time workers
Make sure that:
- your part-time workers receive all staff communications
- you inform them of all major decisions affecting their jobs
This may require you to contact - by phone, email, or text message - those part-time workers who are not in the workplace when you send out messages for the first time.
You could consider setting core hours during the week when all staff will be present. This is a time when you can hold meetings and make or communicate important decisions.
If there isn't a time when all workers are in the workplace, vary the times of key meetings so everyone can attend at least some of the time. Ensure that the outcomes of meetings are shared with workers who were not there.
To help you manage your part-time workers more easily, try to find out if they:
- have any flexibility to work additional hours on major projects or to attend meetings outside their scheduled hours
- are happy for you to contact them outside of their normal working hours
Make sure that any part-time staff has opportunities to attend training courses offered to full-time staff.
This might mean you have to offer training courses that can be delivered more flexibly. For example, a course could:
- have an element of home study time
- be condensed into two days instead of three
- be made up of short units that the worker can complete whenever they are at work
External help for introducing part-time working
There are a number of organisations that can advise you on introducing part-time employment in your business.
The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) provides free advice and guidance on the employment rights of part-time workers.
The Jobs & Benefits Office can help you fill both part-time and full-time vacancies. Support varies from recruitment planning right through to practical vacancy filling, including matching and sorting of application forms.
In many regions, there are specialist organisations that can help employers to implement flexible working - including part-time working - and to recruit suitable candidates.
For more information on the provision in your area, you should contact your local enterprise agency.
You could also try picking up tips from other employers that have already employed part-time workers successfully.
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Part-time workers' rights
The right of part-time workers to receive the same pay, equal treatment, and pro rata contractual benefits.
All workers have basic employment protection rights - regardless of whether they work full or part-time.
Part-time workers must be treated equally to comparable full-time workers who work for the same employer and do similar work under the same type of employment contract.
Pay for part-time workers
Compared with full-time workers, part-time workers should receive equal:
Rates of pay
Part-time workers must receive the same rate of pay as full-time workers carrying out work of equal value.
Overtime pay
But only once they have worked more than the normal full-time hours of a comparable full-time worker, eg if a comparable full-time worker normally works 40 hours per week, a part-time worker working 20 hours per week would have to work another 20 hours before receiving overtime pay.
Enhanced rates of pay
For working outside normal contractual hours, eg bonus pay, shift allowances, unsocial hours payments and weekend payments.
Equal treatment of part-time workers
Compared with full-time workers, part-time workers should receive equal:
- access to any occupational pension scheme
- access to training and career development - when scheduling training courses, you should do as much as possible to include part-time workers
- rights to career breaks
- rights to receive enhanced sick, maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay
- parental leave and other time off rights eg dependents' leave
- consideration for promotion
- the fact that an employee works part-time cannot be used as a reason for selection for transfer or redundancy
Pro rata contractual benefits
Part-time workers have the right to receive contractual benefits pro rata, ie in proportion to the hours they work.
This applies to benefits such as:
- paid annual leave above the statutory minimum
- company cars
- staff discounts
- health insurance
- subsidised mortgages
- profit-sharing and share-option schemes
For example, if you allow your full-time workers 30 days' paid annual leave, a part-time worker working three days a week would be entitled to 18 days.
If you cannot easily divide a benefit, eg health insurance or a car, you could withhold it from part-time workers. However, you must justify this decision on objective grounds.
The best thing to do is to work out the cash value of the benefit and give the appropriate pro rata amount to the part-time worker. For example, you could calculate the financial benefit of a company car and pay half that amount to part-time workers who work half the number of hours of full-time workers.
Term-time / part-year workers
Case law has determined that workers employed on a continuous contract throughout the year, and who work for varying hours during certain weeks of the year, such as those who work only term time, are entitled to 5.6 weeks of leave each year. This entitlement applies regardless of the fact that there are some weeks in the year when they do not work.
In such instances, holiday pay is calculated by averaging the pay received during the 12 weeks prior to the commencement of their leave. If there are weeks during the 12-week period where no pay was received, these weeks are disregarded and the employer must count back to include a total of 12 weeks in which pay was received.
Although there may be times when a part-year worker receives a higher payment than a full-time worker, this is compliant with the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000, as the part-time worker is not being treated less favourably. There is no legislative provision to prevent part-time workers from being treated more favourably.
Justifying less favourable treatment
You should generally treat full-time and part-time workers equally. You will only be able to justify less favourable treatment if it can be shown objectively that it is necessary and appropriate to achieve a legitimate business objective.
For instance, you may be justified in withholding health insurance if you can show that the cost of providing this benefit is disproportionate.
In the case of share-option schemes, you may be able to justify the exclusion of a part-time worker where the value of the share options is so small that the potential benefit to the part-timer of the options is less than the likely cost of realising them.
Complaints of less favourable treatment
Part-time workers who believe you have treated them less favourably can ask you for a written statement of reasons for this. You have 21 days in which to respond.
Part-time workers who still believe you are treating them less favourably, and don't believe you have objectively justified this, can make a complaint to an industrial tribunal. A tribunal can make you pay compensation if they find it in the part-time worker's favour.
The Labour Relations Agency provides an alternative to the Industrial Tribunal under the Labour Relations Agency Arbitration Scheme. Under this scheme, claimants and respondents can choose to refer a claim to an arbitrator to decide instead of going to a tribunal. The arbitrator's decision is binding as a matter of law and has the same effect as a tribunal.
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Introducing job-sharing
Job-sharing is a good way of allowing part-time workers to cover full-time job positions.
Job-sharing is an increasingly popular way for people who used to work full-time to move into part-time work.
What is job-sharing?
Job-sharing is when two - or sometimes more - people share the responsibility, pay, and benefits of a full-time job.
The job sharers share the pay and benefits in proportion to the hours each works. They may work split days, split weeks, or alternate weeks, or their hours may overlap.
For example, one job sharer could work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, while the other works either Thursday and Friday or Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, using Wednesday as a handover period.
The benefits of job-sharing
As an employer, the benefits of job-sharing include:
- retention of valued workers who can no longer work full-time and may otherwise leave
- a wider range of skills, experience, views and ideas
- increased flexibility to meet peaks in demand
- greater continuity when one worker is sick or on holiday
- a wider pool from which to recruit
- increased commitment and loyalty
- a potential reduction in absenteeism, sickness and stress
The advantages of job-sharing for workers include:
- less stress, particularly if they are parents or carers
- a greater sense of responsibility and control of working life
Introducing job-sharing arrangements
Once you have decided that a job-sharing arrangement may be suitable, you may need to agree with workplace representatives on how it will work.
During the recruitment process, you should aim to choose candidates who have demonstrated that they can work well with others, and have complementary skills and experience.
Managing job-sharing arrangements
Once the job sharers are in place, you need to ensure that:
- you divide the work fairly
- you explain how holidays, particularly customary days, will work
- there are clear lines of responsibility
- the job sharers have clear lines of communication between themselves to ensure continuity - eg introducing a log to supplement face-to-face communication between the job sharers
Measure both job sharers' performance against full-time staff members. If there are performance issues, deal with them evenly rather than placing the responsibility on one job sharer rather than the other.
Don't forget to plan ahead for hiring a replacement. It may take you longer to recruit a suitable individual who can work the required hours if one of the job sharers leaves.
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Considering requests to change working hours
Points to think about when workers ask to work part-time or any other flexible working pattern.
All employees, who have 26 weeks of service at the date of application, have the statutory right to request to work flexibly.
This includes working part-time or under some other form of flexible working arrangement, eg working from home.
You have a legal duty to consider any such request seriously - and you may only reject it on a limited number of specified business grounds.
For more information on statutory flexible working requests, see flexible working: the law and best practice.
Considering whether part-time working is appropriate
Before taking a decision, you need to consider:
- if a job-share would be appropriate and whether there is a suitable candidate to work as the other job sharer - see introducing job-sharing
- whether someone needs to be present in the post during all hours of work
- whether all the necessary work can be done in the number of hours the worker wants to work
- whether there is a similar type of job the worker could do part-time
- the cost of recruiting and training a replacement if a compromise cannot be found
- the business benefits of a part-time arrangement
- the consequences on the business' systems, procedures and resources
- reaching agreement with workers and/or their representatives before making changes
- any effects on other staff
Bear in mind that, once you agree to a part-time working arrangement, this is a permanent change to the worker's terms and conditions of employment (unless you agree otherwise). You should notify the worker of this, pointing out in particular that they will receive less pay as a result.
Requests from part-time workers to work full-time
If a part-time worker requests a change to full-time hours, you have no legal duty to agree to - or even consider - such a request unless otherwise agreed.
However, it is best practice to at least ask the worker to provide you with a good reason as to why this would help your business.
You could then consider whether or not:
- there is sufficient work for the increased hours
- you could use the extra hours to reorganise a number of jobs to make them more effective
- your business could afford the increase in pay, bearing in mind that you could offset any increase against saving money on recruitment and/or training
If you refuse the request, you should explain why and/or look for alternative ways of reshaping the job.
Flexible working policies
If you don't have one already, consider putting together a policy for dealing with all flexible-working requests. This will help you deal with such requests consistently and fairly.
Your policy should also cover recruitment and part-time working, ie how you would consider requests to work part-time from both internal and external job applicants applying for full-time positions.
You should, if possible, assess all the jobs in your business - including skilled and managerial ones - to determine which, if any, could be performed part-time or under a job-sharing arrangement.
See how to set up employment policies for your business.
Practical measures to facilitate part-time working
If you are a larger employer, you could consider:
- offering a contribution towards childcare costs
- providing childcare facilities on site, eg a nursery
See childcare support for your staff.
If you have new employees who are parents, and who would like to find out if they are entitled to any other form of financial support with their childcare costs, the Employers for Childcare Family Benefits Advice Service can help - Tel 028 9267 8200 for free, impartial and confidential advice (lines open Monday to Friday 8am-5pm).
You might also consider introducing other flexible forms of working, such as term-time working, lunchtime working, flexi-time and home-working. See types of flexible working.
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Changing an employee's working hours
How an employer can reach an agreement with a worker when you want to change their working hours.
At some point, you may want to change the hours a worker works perhaps as a result of changing business needs or demands.
Can an employer change an employee's working hours?
A change to a worker's working hours amounts to a change to their terms and conditions of employment. As such, you need the worker to agree to any changes. See change an employee's terms of employment.
Requesting a change to working hours
Before requesting a change to a worker's working hours, you should look at the individual circumstances of the worker. For example, a change from part-time to full-time work may affect their care arrangements, while a reduction in hours may cause them financial problems.
You should notify the worker of your proposed changes to their working hours as soon as possible and explain to them why these alterations are necessary. If you do this, they may be more willing to consider and agree to your plans.
You should then consult with the worker and/or their representatives, eg trade union representatives or representatives of any relevant information and consultation forum, to reach an agreement. See inform and consult your employees.
Worker refuses the change to working hours
If the worker refuses to agree to your proposed change in hours, you could terminate the whole contract and offer employment on the revised terms.
However, this amounts to a dismissal - and could potentially be unfair. Therefore, you need to:
- follow a fair and reasonable procedure when dismissing the worker with appropriate notice, prior to the start date of the new contract - see dismissing employees
- terminate the contract by giving the worker proper notice - see issue the correct periods of notice
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Rights of union learning representatives
In this guide:
- Trade union membership rights
- Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employers
- Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies
- Tribunal claims: unlawful refusal of employment or employment agency services on TU membership grounds
- Trade union membership rights in the workplace
- Tribunal claims: discrimination against workers on TU membership grounds
- Rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services
- Tribunal claims: discrimination regarding trade union activities and services
- Time-off rights for union officials and members
- Rights of union learning representatives
- Blacklisting of trade union members
- Current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits
Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employers
The right of job applicants not to be treated unfairly by a prospective employer as a result of trade union membership status.
An individual has the right not to be refused employment because:
- they are not a member of a trade union, or will not agree to become a member
- they are a member of a trade union or will not agree to cease being a member
- they will not agree to make a payment - eg to a union or charity - in lieu of union membership or to allow a prospective employer to deduct a sum of money from their pay to make such a payment
It is unlawful for an employer to refuse employment in contravention of any of these rights.
What types of employment are covered?
'Employment' means employment under a contract of service or apprenticeship.
It does not include self-employment under a contract for services.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' means:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
Refusal of employment
A person will be regarded as having been refused the employment they are seeking if the prospective employer or agent acting on the employer's behalf:
- refuses or deliberately omits to deal with their application or enquiry
- causes them to withdraw or stop pursuing their application or enquiry - eg by making threats or discouraging remarks
- refuses or deliberately omits to offer them employment of the kind they are seeking
- makes them an offer of employment of the kind they are seeking but on terms - eg the rate of pay - that no reasonable employer who wished to fill the vacancy would offer, and which is not accepted
- makes them an offer of employment of the kind they are seeking but withdraws it or causes them not to accept it - eg by making threats or discouraging remarks
Where a person is offered employment subject to any of the requirements listed below and they do not accept the offer because they do not satisfy the requirement, or are unwilling to comply with it, they will be regarded as having been unlawfully refused employment for that reason.
The requirements are that:
- they are or should remain a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to become a member of a trade union
- they are not, or should not become, a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to cease to be a member of a trade union
- they should make payments or suffer deductions in lieu of union membership
Job advertisements specifying union membership requirements
Where a job advertisement appears specifying any of the union membership or non-membership requirements listed above, a person who does not satisfy the requirements, or is unwilling to comply with them, and who applies for and is refused the job, will be presumed to have been refused it unlawfully.
'Advertisement' means every form of advertisement or notice, whether to the public or not. For example, it could be an advertisement in a newspaper or periodical, or a notice posted in or outside a factory.
Recruitment through trade unions
Where there is an arrangement or practice under which an employer recruits only people who have been supplied - ie put forward or approved - by a trade union from among its membership, a person who is not a member of the trade union concerned and who is refused the employment because they have not been supplied by the union, will be regarded as having been refused employment because they are not a union member.
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Trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies
The right of job applicants not to be treated unfairly by an employment agency as a result of trade union membership status.
An individual has the right not to be refused the services of an employment agency because:
- they are not a member of a trade union, or will not agree to become a member
- they are a member of a trade union or will not agree to cease being a member
It is unlawful for an employment agency to refuse its services in contravention of any of these rights.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' means:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
What is meant by an 'employment agency'?
'Employment agency' means any person or organisation that provides services - whether for profit or not - for the purpose of finding employment for workers or supplying employers with workers.
A trade union is not regarded as an employment agency if it provides services only to its own members to assist them in finding employment.
However, if a trade union provides such services to non-members, it will be regarded as an employment agency.
Refusal of the services of an employment agency
A person who seeks to use the services of an employment agency will be regarded as having been refused that service if the agency:
- refuses or deliberately omits to make the service available to them
- does not provide the service to them on the same terms as it provides the service to other people
- causes them not to make use of the service, or to stop making use of it, eg by making threats or discouraging remarks
Where a person is offered the service of an employment agency, subject to any of the requirements listed below, and they do not accept the offer because they do not satisfy the requirement, or are unwilling to comply with it, they will be regarded as having been unlawfully refused the service for that reason.
The requirements are that:
- they are - or should - remain a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to become a member of a trade union
- they are not - or should not - become a member of a trade union
- they should take steps to cease being a member of a trade union
Employment agency advertisements specifying trade union membership requirements
Where an advertisement about the services of an employment agency specifies any of the union membership or non-membership requirements listed above, a person who does not satisfy the requirements or is unwilling to comply with them, and who seeks to use and is refused the services, will be presumed to have been refused them unlawfully.
'Advertisement' means every form of advertisement or notice, whether to the public or not. For example, it could be a list of job vacancies supplied by an employment agency to people who have registered with that agency.
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Tribunal claims: unlawful refusal of employment or employment agency services on TU membership grounds
Industrial tribunal claims where an individual has been refused employment or the services of an employment agency.
Individuals can make an industrial tribunal claim if they think they have been unlawfully refused employment or the services of an employment agency on trade union membership grounds - see trade union membership rights of job applicants - employers and trade union membership rights of job applicants - employment agencies.
An individual - the claimant - can bring a claim against either or both a prospective employer and an employment agency where the claim arises out of the same situation.
If a claimant brings a claim against only one of them, either the employer/employment agency or the claimant can ask the tribunal to join the other - ie either the employment agency or employer - as a party to the proceedings.
A tribunal will grant such a request if it is made before the hearing begins. However, the tribunal may refuse the request if it is not made until after the start of the hearing. This 'request for joinder' cannot be made after the tribunal has decided whether or not the claim was well founded.
If a claimant brings a claim against both an employer and an employment agency or if joinder has been granted and the tribunal finds the claim to be well founded against both the employer and the agency, the tribunal can order any compensation it may award to be paid only by the employment agency, paid only by the employer or divided between the two.
Pressure exerted by a trade union or other person
If the prospective employer or employment agency claims that they were induced to act unlawfully by pressure exerted on them by a trade union or other person - eg by threatening or organising industrial action - they can ask the Industrial Tribunal to join the trade union or other person as a party to the proceedings.
The claimant can also ask that a trade union or other person be joined as a party to the proceedings if they believe that they induced the employer or employment agency by these means to act unlawfully.
A tribunal will grant such a request for joinder - made by either the prospective employer/employment agency or the claimant - if the request is made before the hearing begins. However, the tribunal may refuse the request if it is made after the start of the hearing.
A request for joinder cannot be made after the tribunal has decided whether or not the claim was well-founded.
Where a trade union or other person has been joined to the proceedings and the tribunal finds the claim to be well-founded, it will also consider whether pressure was exerted on the prospective employer or employment agency, as alleged.
If the tribunal finds that such pressure was exerted, it can order the trade union or other person to pay some or all of any compensation it may award.
Remedies for unlawful refusal of employment or the services of an employment agency
If a tribunal finds that an individual has been unlawfully refused employment or the services of an employment agency because of their membership or non-membership of a trade union, it will make a declaration to that effect.
The tribunal may also:
- award the claimant compensation to be paid by the prospective employer and/or employment agency
- recommend that the prospective employer or employment agency takes action to remedy the adverse effect of their unlawful refusal on the claimant, eg by recommending that the employer considers the claimant for a job vacancy
Compensation
The tribunal will assess and award compensation as it sees fit. It may include compensation for injury to feelings.
In cases where a claim is made and upheld against a party and they fail without reasonable justification to comply with a recommendation to take action, the tribunal may increase its award of compensation, or make an award if it has not already done so.
The amount of compensation payable, including any additional compensation awarded for failure to comply with a recommendation, is subject to an upper limit.
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Trade union membership rights in the workplace
The rights of those in work not to be treated unfairly as a result of trade union membership or non-membership.
You must not treat employees and other workers unfairly on the grounds of trade union membership or non-membership. Unfair treatment includes dismissal and subjecting a worker to a detriment.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' includes:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
What is meant by the term 'detriment'?
A person can be subjected to a detriment through either an act or a deliberate decision not to act by an employer. Whether a worker has suffered a detriment is for an industrial tribunal to decide.
Examples of a detriment include withholding a pay increase, discrimination in promotion, transfer or training opportunities, or threats of dismissal. For a worker who is not an employee, a detriment could also be ending their employment.
In addition, a detriment could be the failure to confer a benefit on a person who failed to accept an unlawful inducement that would have been conferred on them had they accepted the offer.
For example, if an employer offered £1,000 to workers with the sole or main purpose of inducing them to give up their trade union membership, any worker who did not accept that offer and was therefore not paid the £1,000 would have been subjected to a detriment of £1,000.
Right not to belong to a trade union
No person has to join or remain a member of, a trade union.
All employees have the right:
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for not belonging to a trade union or for refusing to join one
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for failing to accept an offer made by their employer with the sole or main purpose of inducing them to be or become a trade union member
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer (for not being or refusing to become a trade union member)
- not to be made an offer by their employer where the sole or main purpose of the employer is to induce them to be or to become a trade union member
- not to be subjected to a detriment for failing to accept such an offer
Right not to make payments in lieu of union membership
Employees have the right not to be dismissed for refusing to make a payment, eg to a union or a charity, in lieu of union membership or for objecting to their employer deducting a sum of money from their pay to make such a payment.
Employees and other workers have the right not to have other action taken by their employer to force them to make such a payment. If their employer deducts a sum of money from their pay, this counts as an action to force them to make such a payment.
Right to belong to a trade union
All employees have the right:
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for being a member of an independent trade union or for proposing to become a member
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for failing to accept an offer made by their employer with the sole or main purpose of inducing them not to be or become a trade union member
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer, to prevent or deter them from belonging to an independent trade union or from seeking to become a member, or to penalise them for doing so
- not to be made an offer by their employer where the sole or main purpose of the offer is to induce them not to be (or seek to become) a member
- not to be subjected to a detriment for failing to accept such an offer
Right of complaint to an Industrial Tribunal
Individuals who think that any of their rights as set out above have been infringed can make an industrial tribunal claim. For more information, see tribunal claims: discrimination against workers on TU membership grounds.
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Tribunal claims: discrimination against workers on TU membership grounds
Industrial tribunal claims when workers are discriminated against due to trade union membership.
Individuals who think that any of their rights (as set out in trade union membership rights in the workplace) have been infringed can make an Industrial Tribunal claim.
If an employee has been dismissed - including cases where they have been dismissed on grounds of redundancy - their claim is one of unfair dismissal.
If an employee or other worker considers that they have been subjected to a detriment by an act, or deliberate failure to act, by their employer, their claim is one of detriment.
For the detriment to be unlawful, the person must have been subjected to it with the intention of putting pressure on them in respect of non-membership or membership of a union, or for other unlawful purposes relating to failure to accept unlawful inducements.
If a worker believes that you have made an unlawful inducement relating to trade union membership as described above, their claim is one of unlawful inducement.
Pressure exerted by a trade union or other person
An employer who faces a claim of unfair dismissal may have dismissed the employee concerned as a result of pressure applied by a union or other person because the employee was not a member of a trade union. The pressure could be in the form of actual or threatened industrial action.
If the employer or the employee making the complaint claims this is so, either of them may make a request to the tribunal for the union or other person concerned to be joined - ie brought in as a party - to the proceedings.
A request by either an employer or a dismissed employee for a trade union or other person in unfair dismissal proceedings to be joined in this way will be granted by the tribunal if it is made before the hearing begins. However, the tribunal may refuse the request if it is made after the start of the hearing.
If the tribunal finds the dismissal unfair and the claim of pressure well founded, it may make any award of compensation wholly or partly against the union or other person concerned instead of - or as well as - against the employer.
Compensation
The compensatory awards for the claims in relation to union membership, non-membership, and unlawful inducements vary. For more information, see current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits.
Note that in cases where a worker makes a related claim to the tribunal concerning detriment and the tribunal upholds that claim, the tribunal may award compensation for the detriment suffered.
In deciding the amount of such compensation, a tribunal may not make a reduction on the ground that a complainant:
- contributed to their loss by accepting or not accepting an unlawful inducement
- has received or is entitled to an award on the grounds that an unlawful inducement has been made to them
Status of contractual changes resulting from unlawful inducements
If a worker has accepted an unlawful inducement, but any consequent agreement by them to vary their terms and conditions has not yet been effected, the agreement to vary the terms and conditions is not enforceable.
In such circumstances, the employer cannot recover any cash paid or other benefits conferred on the worker concerned.
However, in cases where the agreed variation of terms and conditions has been effected, those variations are enforceable.
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Rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services
The right of workers who are union members not to be treated unfairly when interacting with their union.
You must not treat employees and other workers unfairly on the grounds that they have taken part in the activities of the trade union to which they belong or have made use of their union's services at an appropriate time.
Unfair treatment includes dismissal and subjecting a worker to a detriment.
What is meant by the term 'trade union'?
The term 'trade union' includes:
- any trade union
- a particular trade union
- one of a number of particular trade unions
- a particular branch or section of a trade union
- one of a number of particular branches or sections of a trade union
What is meant by the term 'detriment'?
Detriment can be either an act or a deliberate decision not to act by an employer. Whether an employee or other worker has suffered a detriment is for a tribunal to decide.
Examples of a detriment would be withholding a pay increase, discrimination in promotion, transfer or training opportunities, or threats of dismissal. For a worker who is not an employee, detriment could also take the form of dismissal.
In addition, a detriment could be the failure to confer a benefit on a person who failed to accept an unlawful inducement that would have been conferred on them had they accepted the offer.
For example, if an employer offered £1,000 to workers not to take advice from their union, any worker who did not accept that offer and was therefore not paid the £1,000 would have been subjected to a detriment of £1,000.
Right to take part in trade union activities
All employees have the following rights relating to their trade union activities:
- Not to be dismissed or selected for redundancy, for taking part - or proposing to take part - in the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time.
- Not to be dismissed or selected for redundancy because they failed to accept an offer made by their employer. The sole or main purpose of the offer must be to induce them not to take part in the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time.
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer to prevent or deter them from taking part in trade union activities at an appropriate time, or to penalise them for doing so
- not to be made an offer by their employer, the sole or main purpose of which is to induce them not to take part in an independent trade union's activities at an appropriate time
- not to be subjected to a detriment for failing to accept such an offer
The kinds of union activity a worker may take part in are not set out in law. However, union activities involving a worker acting on behalf of the union would be covered, eg a shop steward representing a union that is recognised for collective bargaining purposes or activities connected with the election or appointment of union officials.
Right to make use of trade union services
All employees have the following rights relating to the use they make of their union's services:
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, for making use, or proposing to make use, of the services of an independent trade union at an appropriate time
- not to be dismissed, or selected for redundancy, because they failed to accept an offer made by their employer, the sole or main purpose of which was to induce them not to use the services of an independent trade union at an appropriate time
In addition, all employees and other workers have the right:
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer to prevent or deter them from using their union's services at an appropriate time or to penalise them for doing so
- not to be made an offer by their employer, the sole or main purpose of which is to induce them not to make use of an independent trade union's services at an appropriate time
- not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer for failing to accept such an offer
'Trade union services' are services made available to an employee or other worker by virtue of their membership of an independent trade union. They include the union agreeing to raise a matter on behalf of the employee or other worker by, for example, writing to the employer about a grievance.
However, such services do not include having a member's terms and conditions determined by collective agreement.
The 'appropriate time' for the union member to take part in union activities or to make use of their union's services is time either:
- outside the member's working hours - this could cover activities that take place or services which are used when the person is on the employer's premises but not actually required to be working, eg during lunch breaks
- within the member's working hours where the employer has agreed that the worker may take part in trade union activities or use the trade union's services
Rights to reasonable time off for trade union duties and activities also exist where an employer recognises a union for collective bargaining. For more information on collective bargaining, see meaning and types of trade union recognition.
Right of complaint to an Industrial Tribunal
Individuals who think that any of their rights as set out above have been infringed can complain to an industrial tribunal. See tribunal claims: discrimination regarding trade union activities and services.
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Tribunal claims: discrimination regarding trade union activities and services
Industrial tribunal claims due to discrimination relating to trade union activities and services.
Individuals who think that any of their rights (as in rights of workers relating to trade union activities and services) have been infringed can complain to an industrial tribunal.
If an employee has been dismissed - including cases where they have been dismissed on grounds of redundancy - their complaint is one of unfair dismissal.
If employees or other workers consider that they have been subjected to a detriment by an act, or deliberate failure to act, by their employer, their complaint is one of detriment.
If employees or other workers consider that you have made an unlawful inducement relating to trade union activities and services, their complaint is one of unlawful inducement.
Compensation
The compensatory awards for the claims in relation to dismissal and detriment vary. A tribunal can make an award to an individual for claims of unlawful inducements in relation to trade union membership/non-membership, activities, or collective bargaining. For more information, see current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits.
Note that in cases where an employee or other worker makes a related complaint to the tribunal concerning detriment, and the tribunal upholds that complaint, the tribunal may award compensation for the detriment suffered.
In deciding the amount of such compensation, a tribunal may not make a reduction on the ground that a complainant:
- contributed to their loss by accepting or not accepting an unlawful inducement
- has received or is entitled to an award on the grounds that an unlawful inducement has been made to them
Status of contractual changes resulting from unlawful inducements
If an employee or other worker accepts an unlawful inducement, but any consequent agreement by them to vary their terms and conditions has not yet been effected, the agreement to vary the terms and conditions is not enforceable.
Also, in such circumstances, the employer cannot recover any cash paid or other benefits conferred on the employee or worker concerned.
However, in cases where the agreed variation of terms and conditions has been effected, those variations are enforceable.
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Time-off rights for union officials and members
Rights to time off for union duties and activities and the circumstances under which this should be paid time off.
Trade union officials and members have rights to time off under certain circumstances. The time off may or may not be paid.
The right to paid time off for union duties
You must give an employee who is an official of a recognised union reasonable paid time off:
- to carry out their union duties
- for training related to union duties
A trade union official's typical duties may include:
- recruiting, organising and representing members of a trade union, either individually or collectively
- attending meetings with members of the workforce and management
- accompanying workers to disciplinary and grievance hearings
- negotiating with the employer on terms and conditions of employment or matters of discipline
The right to time off for union activities
You must give union officials and members reasonable unpaid time off for carrying out union activities.
Such activities might include:
- voting in union elections
- meeting full-time officials to discuss issues relevant to the workplace
- attending workplace meetings to discuss and vote on the outcome of negotiations
Right of complaint to an Industrial Tribunal
Individuals who think that any of these rights have been infringed can complain to an industrial tribunal.
If the tribunal finds the complaint well founded, it will make a declaration to that effect and award compensation as it sees fit.
In cases where the employer has failed to pay the employee for the time off, it will order the employer to pay the amount due.
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Rights of union learning representatives
The rights of union learning representatives, including arranging and undertaking training.
What are union learning representatives?
Union learning representatives have the same status as union officials and are allowed paid time off to carry out their duties.
Union learning representatives are:
- representatives of a recognised union who provide advice to union members about their training, educational, and developmental needs
- elected or appointed in accordance with the union's rules
- trained in line with statutory training conditions
- notified to the employer in writing
Rights of union learning representatives
Union learning representatives have a legal right to reasonable paid time off during working hours to carry out their duties, which may include:
- undertaking relevant training
- analysing the learning or training needs of union members
- providing information and advice on learning or training
- arranging learning or training
- consulting the employer about learning and training
- preparing for the above
The law does not assign a negotiating role to union learning representatives. However, some employers have voluntarily negotiated learning agreements with their union learning representatives.
Advantages of union learning representatives for employers
Union learning representatives can be a source of expert advice. They cost you comparatively little and can help with identifying the training needs of staff and encouraging a learning culture within the company.
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Blacklisting of trade union members
Description of the law that prohibits the blacklisting of trade unionists.
From 6 April 2014 the Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 came into operation which prohibits the blacklisting of trade unionists.
The Regulations make it unlawful to compile, supply, sell or use a 'prohibited list' (ie a blacklist).
Employers and employment agencies cannot:
- refuse a person employment for a reason related to a blacklist
- dismiss an employee for a reason related to a blacklist
- subject a person to any other detriment for a reason related to a blacklist
- refuse the services of an employment agency to a person for a reason related to a blacklist.
What is a blacklist?
A blacklist must:
- Contain 'details' about current or former trade union members or of persons who are taking part or have taken part in trade union activities. These 'details' could include names, addresses, National Insurance numbers, occupations or work histories.
- Have been compiled for employers or employment agencies to use in order to discriminate on grounds of trade union membership or activities when recruiting or during employment.
Blacklists would include any index or other set of items whether recorded manually, electronically or in other forms, and can include haphazard or unstructured collections of information with a common connection - such as a shared purpose.
You can act unlawfully if you indirectly access a blacklist. It may not be a defence for you to claim that you did not know you were using information from a blacklist.
Everyone on a blacklist is protected, even non-trade union members.
There are some incidences where the law does not prohibit blacklists. It is lawful if you:
- Supply a blacklist in circumstances where you could not reasonably be expected to know it was a prohibited list.
- Compile, supply or use a blacklist in order to draw attention to possible or actual blacklisting activity. For this to apply, no information about the person on the list should have been published without their consent, and the activity is justified in the public interest.
- Compiled, sold, supplied or used a prohibited list for the sole or main purpose of appointing or electing an office-holder in a trade union; or appointing a person to a post or office where the appointee must have experience or knowledge of trade unions, and it is reasonable to apply such a requirement.
- Compile, sell, supply or use a blacklist to comply with a statutory or legal requirement or to obey a court order.
It is also lawful to access a blacklist either:
- in connection with legal proceedings
- to obtain or provide legal advice about blacklisting compliance
Industrial Tribunal claims
If an employer is suspected of blacklisting, or an employment agency refuses employment based on blacklist information, they could be taken to an industrial tribunal.
If successful in an Industrial Tribunal, the claimant could be awarded compensation.
Court claims
A claim to a court can be made by anyone if they have suffered loss or been threatened by a potential loss.
If a complaint is successful, the court can award damages and compensation for injury to feelings. They are also empowered to make orders to stop organisations from blacklisting or using blacklists.
An individual cannot make a complaint to an Industrial Tribunal and the court in relation to the same conduct. However, if a complaint is made to an industrial tribunal, the same complainant could also ask the court to restrain or prevent an employer from blacklisting.
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Current tribunal and arbitration compensation limits
Minimum and maximum amounts that may be ordered to be paid by a tribunal.
The following table lists the different tribunal and arbitration compensation awards and the most recent changes to their limits in the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025.
Table of increase of limits
Compensation From 6 April 2024 From 6 April 2025 Maximum basic award for unfair dismissal (30 weeks' pay, subject to the limit on a week's pay) £21,870 £22,470 Minimum additional award for failure to comply with a tribunal's order to reinstate or re-employ an employee who has been unfairly dismissed (26 weeks' pay, subject to the limit on a week's pay) £18,954 £19,474 Maximum additional award for failure to comply with a tribunal's order to reinstate or re-employ an employee who has been unfairly dismissed (52 weeks' pay, subject to the limit on a week's pay) £37,908 £38,948 Maximum amount of 'a week's pay' for the purpose of calculating a redundancy payment or for various awards including the basic or additional award of compensation for unfair dismissal £729 £749 Minimum amount of basic award of compensation where dismissal is unfair £8,863 £9,102 Limit on amount of compensatory award for unfair dismissal £115,341 £118,455 Limit on guarantee pay (per day) £38 £39 Amount of award for unlawful inducement relating to trade union membership, activities, or services, or for unlawful inducement relating to collective bargaining £5,861 £6,019 Minimum amount of compensation where an individual is expelled from a union in contravention of Article 38 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and not readmitted by date of tribunal application £13,292 £13,651 Limit on amount in respect of any one week payable to an employee in respect of debt to which Part XIV of the 1996 Order applies and which is referable to a period of time £729 £749
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