News Archive

From 18 July 2010, qualifying employees who are parents of children aged 16 or under can avail of the right to request flexible working. This extends the scope of the right beyond groups already entitled to make a request - parents of children aged under 6, parents of disabled children under 18 and carers of adult dependants.

• For more information, visit the NIDirect  website.

The Department has published its response to public consultation on the possibility of extending the existing right to request flexible working and introducing a new right to request time to train.

• Flexible Working Time and Time to Train

The Department publishes responses to the Public Consultations on proposed changes to Employment Agency and Businesses Law and Trade Union Law.

Responses: Proposed changes to Employment Agency and Businesses Law. Proposed changes to Trade Union Law

The statutory holiday entitlement is changing. The holiday entitlement increased to 4.8 weeks from 1 October 2007 and will further increase to 5.6 weeks from 1 April 2009 (which is equivalent to 28 days if you work 5 days per week, pro-rata for part-time workers). The holiday entitlement can include bank holidays.

There is no statutory right to time off for bank and public holidays. Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of an employee's contract of employment.

For further information on the new holiday entitlement,www.delni.gov.uk/paidholidayentitlement