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Volunteers
A volunteer is not an employee or a worker and does not have an employment contract.
Disciplinary matters
February 2016
This Information Note provides guidance on general principles in relation to discipline. It is not a substitute for the Agency’s Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.
Employee representatives
Employees who act as representatives for consultation about redundancies or business transfers, or are candidates to be representatives of this kind, are entitled to reasonable time off with pay during working hours to perform these functions and to receive appropriate training.
Pay Rates at a glance - April 2024 - March 2025
Each April sees the increase to the National Living and Minimum Wage rates, and other statutory rates of pay
The tables below show the current rates applicable for the above, and the revised rates which will apply from April 2024.
If you have any queries regarding these matters, please feel free to contact our Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300
Collective bargaining
This is one method that employers use to work with trade unions or works councils to negotiate matters such as terms and conditions of employment for certain groups or all their employees.
Trade unions
The Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 defines a trade union as “an organisation (whether permanent or temporary) which … consists wholly or mainly of workers of one or more descriptions and is an organisation whose principal purposes include the regulation of relations between workers … and employers or employers’ associations.
Effective Joint Committees
This Guide provides information on Joint Committees which promote positive working relationships between employees or their representatives with employers, and encourage good engagement and sound communications.
Employee-led Early Conciliation
From 27 January 2020 anyone who wishes to lodge a claim with the Industrial or Fair Employment Tribunal must first notify the Labour Relations Agency and discuss the option of Early Conciliation. You will not be able to proceed to tribunal without at least considering this option.
Breach of Contract
If an employer fundamentally breaches a contract of employment, it could lead to the employee resigning. If an employee fundamentally breaches a contract of employment he or she could be dismissed.
Advice on Managing Sickness Absence
This guide tries to answer some questions you might ask when an employee is absent from work due to sickness or unauthorised absence.