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Redundancy Payments
Statutory minimum payments depend on age and length of service and are subject to a maximum (full details appear in the July 1993 Employment Gazette page 317). Employees are covered if: they have worked for two years for a minimum of 16 hours a week; or have worked for five years between 8 and 16 hours a week.
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Maternity Leave
90 per cent. of earnings for six weeks plus £47.95 a week for 12 weeks. Eligibility is on the same basis as for redundancy payments. However, the rules for maternity pay are being revised. For more detail on the current rules, and the future requirements, see "Changes in Maternity Pay, Proposals for Implementing the EC Pregnant Workers Directive" published by the Department of Social Security (DSS) August 1993.
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Sick Pay
The Statutory minimum is related to the employees earnings and
169W
is payable for a maximum 28 weeks. All employees are covered except for a few groups such as those on contracts of 3 months or less. More detail is available from the DSS Guide NI270 "Employer's Manual on Statutory Sick Pay".
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Protection Against Harassment Discrimination
Race and sex discrimination at work is generally prohibited. The clauses are set out in: the Equal Pay Act 1970; the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976. These rights apply to all employees irrespective of length of service or hours of work. Other rights such as protection against unfair dismissal are subject to the same qualifying period as redundancy payments above.