The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

Death of employee

211.—(1) Where an employee whose employer has given him notice to terminate his contract of employment dies before the notice expires, this Part applies as if the contract had been duly terminated by the employer by notice expiring on the date of the employee’s death.

(2) Where—

(a) an employee’s contract of employment has been terminated by the employer,

(b) (by virtue of paragraph (5) of Article 180) a date later than the relevant date as defined by the previous provisions of that Article is the relevant date for the purposes of certain provisions of this Order, and

(c) the employee dies before that date,

that paragraph applies as if the notice to which it refers would have expired on the employee’s death.

(3) Where—

(a) an employer has given notice to an employee to terminate his contract of employment and has offered to renew his contract of employment or to re-engage him under a new contract, and

(b) the employee dies without having accepted or refused the offer and without the offer having been withdrawn,

Article 176(2) applies as if for the words “he unreasonably refuses” there were substituted “it would have been unreasonable on his part to refuse”.

(4) Where an employee’s contract of employment has been renewed or he has been re-engaged under a new contract—

(a) if he dies during the trial period without having terminated, or given notice to terminate, the contract, Article 176(4) applies as if for sub-paragraph (d) there were substituted—

“(d) it would have been unreasonable for the employee during the trial period to terminate or give notice to terminate the contract.”, and

(b) if during that trial period he gives notice to terminate the contract but dies before the notice expires, Articles 173(2) and 176(4) apply as if the notice had expired (and the contract had been terminated by its expiry) on the date of the employee’s death.

(5) Where in the circumstances specified in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph (3) of Article 171 the employee dies before the notice given by him under sub-paragraph (b) of that paragraph expires—

(a) if he dies before his employer has given him a notice such as is specified in paragraph (2) of Article 177, paragraphs (3) and (4) of that Article apply as if the employer had given him such a notice and he had not complied with it, and

(b) if he dies after his employer has given him such a notice, that Article applies as if the employee had not died but did not comply with the notice.

(6) Where an employee has given notice of intention to claim—

(a) if he dies before he has given notice to terminate his contract of employment and before the relevant period (as defined in paragraph (3) of Article 185) has expired, that section does not apply, and

(b) if he dies within the period of seven days after the service of the notice of intention to claim, and before the employer has given a counter-notice, Chapter III applies as if the employer had given a counter-notice within that period of seven days.

(7) Where a claim for a redundancy payment is made by a personal representative of a deceased employee—

(a) if the employee died before the end of the period of six months beginning with the relevant date, paragraph (1) of Article 199, and

(b) if the employee died after the end of the period of six months beginning with the relevant date but before the end of the following period of six months, paragraph (2) of that Article,

applies as if for the words “six months” there were substituted “one year”.