Flexible Working (Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations relate to the new statutory right to request a variation to the terms and conditions of an employee’s contract of employment to enable the employee to care for a child. This new right is provided for in the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 and the relevant provisions are incorporated by that Order into the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (“the 1996 Order”).

Entitlement to request a contract variation is available under regulation 3 to an employee with 26 weeks' qualifying service, who is either the mother, father, adopter, guardian, or foster parent of the child, or the partner or spouse of any of these relatives, and who has or expects to have responsibility for the upbringing of the child.

Regulation 4 imposes requirements as to the form of the application.

Regulation 5 provides when an application is taken as having been made by the employee.

Regulation 6 specifies which breaches of the Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 entitle the employee to make a complaint to an industrial tribunal notwithstanding the fact that his application has not been disposed of by agreement or withdrawn.

Regulation 7 provides that the maximum amount of compensation that an industrial tribunal may award, where it finds a complaint under Article 112H well-founded, is 8 weeks' pay. For this purpose, the maximum amount of a week’s pay is calculated in accordance with Chapter IV of Part I of the 1996 Order.