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Deductions from wages by employers
February 2016
The Wages (Northern Ireland) Order 1988 repealed various Truck Acts 1831 to 1940 and the Payment of Wages Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 and made changes to the law governing the way in which wages were paid.
Informal actions
Whether it’s the employer who needs to raise an issue with an employee, or an employee who would like to make a complaint to their employer, it is useful to consider in the first instance whether an informal approach could be taken to resolve the matter.
Arbitration Explained
Arbitration
Arbitration involves an independent and impartial person called an arbitrator (acting alone or chairing a panel) being appointed by the Labour Relations Agency to make a decision on a dispute. This decision is based on the evidence presented by the parties to that dispute.
Garden Leave
Garden leave is a term used to describe a situation whereby an employee who has resigned from their employment or who has been dismissed by the employer is not required to work their notice and instead remains at home during the period of notice.
Flexible Working: The Right to Request and Duty to Consider
Under provisions set out in the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and regulations made under it, all employees have a statutory right to ask their employer for a change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment to work flexibly.
Working Time Regulations
In addition to the rights outlined around qualifying periods, a number of other rights and responsibilities exist. These relate to rest breaks, the number of hours a worker can be required to work and paid leave.
Dependants Leave
An employee is allowed a reasonable amount of time to deal with unexpected or sudden emergencies concerning a dependant. This is unpaid unless contractual arrangements state otherwise.
Antenatal Care
All pregnant employees are entitled to time off to keep appointments for antenatal care made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, registered midwife or registered health visitor.
A person in a qualifying relationship with the pregnant employee is entitled to unpaid time off work to accompany the expectant mother to two antenatal appointments.
Preventing relationship problems
The best way to prevent relationship problems is to have policies and procedures that are fair, constructive and clear and there should be constructive communication to address issues as quickly as possible. We can help you to check if your policies and procedures are in line with best practice.
However, where relationships have been damaged by events in the workplace, the Labour Relations Agency can provide impartial and confidential mediation, conciliation or arbitration support to help resolve the situation.