Your written statement, minimum wage, holiday, sick pay, dismissal, notice, redundancy pay and flexible working under Northern Ireland law.
Describe what has happened. The checker answers only from this guide, plus what you tell it, and says so if something is not covered.
Check My Rights →Employees and workers in Northern Ireland who want to know their basic rights at work. It covers:
If you are an employee who has been employed for longer than one month, you should receive a written statement of employment particulars. Your employer must give it to you within two months of you starting work.
It must include your pay rate and when you will be paid, your hours, your holiday entitlement, where you will work, sick pay arrangements, notice periods, and information about disciplinary and grievance procedures.
As an employee you have the right to an itemised pay statement (a payslip) at or before the time each payment of wages is made.
The minimum wage is the same across the UK. From 1 April 2026 the hourly rates are:
The rates change on 1 April every year. If you think you are paid less, use the minimum wage checker.
You are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid annual leave. If you work 5 days a week, that is 28 days.
The statutory entitlement is capped at 28 days. If you work 6 days a week you are still entitled to 28 days.
If you work part-time, you get 5.6 times the number of days in your normal working week. For example, 2 days a week gives 11.2 days.
You start building up holiday as soon as you start work. You are paid your normal pay for your holiday. When you finish a job, you are paid for any holiday you have not taken.
If you work casual or irregular hours, you are entitled to paid time off for every hour you work.
You do not have a statutory right to paid leave on bank and public holidays. If your employer gives paid leave on a bank or public holiday, it can count towards your minimum entitlement. Northern Ireland has 10 bank and public holidays.
You need to be classed as a worker to have the right to paid holiday. If you are self-employed, you have no statutory right to paid annual leave.
From 6 April 2026, statutory sick pay (SSP) is paid from the first full day of sickness absence. There are no unpaid waiting days and no minimum earnings. This change applies in Northern Ireland as well as in Great Britain.
SSP is £123.25 a week, or 80% of your normal weekly earnings if that is lower.
In Northern Ireland you need at least 1 year of continuous employment to claim ordinary unfair dismissal, so anyone with 1 year or more qualifies. The Great Britain change to 6 months from January 2027 does not apply in Northern Ireland.
No minimum length of service is needed if you were dismissed for an automatically unfair reason, such as whistleblowing, pregnancy, or raising a health and safety concern.
If your employer dismisses you for using or trying to use one of your legal employment rights, the dismissal is automatically unfair. These include your right to a written statement, a payslip, minimum notice, time off for dependants, a flexible working request, and protection against unlawful deductions from wages.
Being unfairly selected for redundancy is also unfair dismissal.
If you were dismissed because of disability, race, sex, age, religion or another protected reason, that is a discrimination claim under Northern Ireland's own equality laws. The discrimination claim needs no minimum length of service. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland may be able to help with a discrimination claim.
Whatever your contract says, your employer must give you at least the statutory minimum notice:
If you have worked for your employer for 1 month or more, the legal minimum notice you must give is 1 week. If your contract sets a longer notice period, you should give that.
A fixed-term contract ends automatically without notice on its end date.
Statutory redundancy pay needs at least 2 years of continuous employment, in Northern Ireland as in the rest of the UK.
It is worked out from your age, how long you have been continuously employed, and your weekly pay:
No more than 20 years can be counted. For redundancies from 6 April 2026, a week's pay is capped at £783. The most statutory redundancy pay can be is £23,490.
Weekly pay should include regular overtime and any bonuses or commission.
Your employer must tell you in writing how your redundancy pay has been worked out. Your contract may give you more than the statutory amount.
You can make a statutory request to work flexibly if you are an employee and have worked for your employer for 26 weeks continuously on the date you make the request.
You can make only one statutory request in any 12-month period.
It is a right to ask, not a right to have the change.
Employees with less than 26 weeks' service, agency workers and office holders do not have the statutory right to request flexible working.
Before most claims you must notify the Labour Relations Agency (LRA). Early conciliation through the LRA is free. You can't go to a tribunal without at least considering it, unless you are exempt.
If you notify the LRA within your time limit, the clock stops for up to 1 calendar month while conciliation takes place, plus up to 14 more days if both sides agree.
Contact the LRA on 03300 555 300.
Labour Relations Agency (LRA): 03300 555 300. Early conciliation, and free, confidential and impartial advice on employment rights. The LRA does not advise on whether your own claim will succeed.
Equality Commission for Northern Ireland: 028 9050 0600. Enquiries about equality or discrimination at work.
If you are in a trade union, it can give you help, advice and support.
Advice NI: 0800 915 4604
Comments are loading…
UK Work Rights is completely free and always will be. If this guidance helped you, a small donation helps keep the site running and updated for everyone.
100% goes to running and maintaining this free service. No pressure — the guidance is always free.