This document was originally published on the 6th of April 2020.
The 14th of April 2020 guidance has been updated in respect of employees that live in Northern Ireland. The statutory entitlement to leave and pay only exists in Great Britain so this is welcome clarification.
The updated guidance includes a totally new section called ‘employee lives in Northern Ireland’. It reads as follows:
If an employee lives in Northern Ireland and is employed by a company in Great Britain with a contract made under the Employment Rights Act 1996, the employee will be eligible for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay.
If an employee lives in Northern Ireland and has a contract of employment made under the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, they will not qualify for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay.
Global Payroll Association Comment
It is very important to look at the contract of employment and see if it makes reference to the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Great Britain) or the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (Northern Ireland).
If it is written under the Northern Irish Order then there will be no entitlement to the new statutory entitlement to leave and pay.
It is so unfortunate that we are probably going to have to pay more attention to this new statutory payment than we ever imagined and we urge employers to make sure that they have policies and procedures in place.
This document was originally published on the 6th of April 2020.
The 14th of April 2020 guidance has been updated in respect of employees that live in Northern Ireland. The statutory entitlement to leave and pay only exists in Great Britain so this is welcome clarification.
The updated guidance includes a totally new section called ‘employee lives in Northern Ireland’. It reads as follows:
If an employee lives in Northern Ireland and is employed by a company in Great Britain with a contract made under the Employment Rights Act 1996, the employee will be eligible for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay.
If an employee lives in Northern Ireland and has a contract of employment made under the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, they will not qualify for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay.
Global Payroll Association Comment
It is very important to look at the contract of employment and see if it makes reference to the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Great Britain) or the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (Northern Ireland).
If it is written under the Northern Irish Order then there will be no entitlement to the new statutory entitlement to leave and pay.
It is so unfortunate that we are probably going to have to pay more attention to this new statutory payment than we ever imagined and we urge employers to make sure that they have policies and procedures in place.