Employment & Pay19 October 2026

Working in Northern Ireland: how your employment rights differ from Great Britain in 2026

Written and reviewed by, LLM (UK), CFP®·Published

Working in Northern Ireland: how your employment rights differ from Great Britain in 2026

Most of your payslip works the same across the UK: income tax, National Insurance, the minimum wage and Statutory Sick Pay. Employment rights do not. Employment law is devolved to Northern Ireland, so the Employment Rights Act 2025, which brought in a wave of changes in England, Scotland and Wales, largely does not apply here.

A new father in Belfast still needs 26 weeks' service for paternity leave; one in Liverpool does not. Here is what differs, what does not, and where to get help. For other NI differences, from domestic rates to stamp duty, see our Northern Ireland hub.

Try it yourself: the Redundancy Pay Calculator has an "I work in Northern Ireland" option that applies the NI weekly pay cap.

The differences at a glance

Right Northern Ireland Great Britain
Paternity leave: service needed 26 weeks None, a day-one right from 6 April 2026
Paternity leave: when to take it Within 56 days of the birth, as one block Within 52 weeks, in one or two blocks
Flexible working requests After 26 weeks' service, one a year From day one
Unfair dismissal: qualifying service Normally 1 year Normally 2 years
Unfair dismissal: time limit to claim 3 months Usually 6 months (dismissals from 1 October 2026)
Statutory redundancy pay: weekly cap £783 £751
Bank and public holidays 10 8 in England and Wales
Disputes Labour Relations Agency, industrial tribunals Acas, employment tribunals
Statutory Sick Pay Same April 2026 changes Same
National Minimum Wage Same rates Same

Why the rules differ

Employment rights are a transferred matter, made in Northern Ireland rather than Westminster, and most of the Employment Rights Act 2025 extends only to Great Britain.

There is one important exception. Sick pay rules in NI sit in separate Northern Ireland social security law, and sections 12 and 13 of the 2025 Act amend that law directly, so the April 2026 Statutory Sick Pay changes apply in NI too.

Paternity leave: service still matters

To take paternity leave in Northern Ireland you must be an employee who has worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the week the baby is due. In Great Britain, the leave has been a day-one right since 6 April 2026.

The NI rules are also less flexible on timing:

  • You can take one or two weeks, but two weeks must be consecutive. No odd days.
  • Leave cannot start before the birth and must end within 56 days of it.
  • Give your employer written notice at least 15 weeks before the due week.

In Great Britain, the two weeks can be split into separate blocks and taken any time in the first 52 weeks.

Statutory Paternity Pay is the same everywhere: £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower, for those with 26 weeks' service and average earnings of at least £129 a week. Maternity pay works the same way across the UK too; see our maternity pay guide and the Maternity Pay Calculator.

Practical tip: if you are planning a job move and expecting a baby, check the dates. Starting a new NI job less than 26 weeks before the cut-off means no statutory paternity leave, so negotiate it as part of your offer.

Holidays and bank holidays

The statutory minimum is the same as in Great Britain: 5.6 weeks of paid holiday, capped at 28 days for someone working five days a week. Part-timers get the same pro rata: on a three-day week, 5.6 x 3 = 16.8 days.

Northern Ireland has 10 bank and public holidays. In 2026 they were or are:

Holiday 2026 date
New Year's Day 1 January
St Patrick's Day 17 March
Good Friday 3 April
Easter Monday 6 April
Early May bank holiday 4 May
Spring bank holiday 25 May
Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day) 13 July (substitute, as 12 July is a Sunday)
Summer bank holiday 31 August
Christmas Day 25 December
Boxing Day 28 December (substitute day)

There is no legal right to paid leave on these days. Employers can count them towards the 5.6 weeks, so a full-time NI contract offering "18 days plus bank holidays" may only just meet the minimum, where the same wording in England would be 20 days plus 8.

Irregular hours. Great Britain introduced a 12.07% accrual method for irregular hours and part-year workers from April 2024. nidirect's guidance for NI does not set out that method; it says casual and irregular workers get paid time off for every hour worked. If your hours vary, ask your employer how your holiday is calculated, and check with the Labour Relations Agency if it looks wrong. The Holiday Entitlement Calculator handles fixed weekly patterns; enter 10 bank holidays for NI.

Redundancy pay: a higher cap

The formula is the same as in Great Britain: after two years' service, half a week's pay for each full year under 22, one week for each year from 22 to 40, and one and a half weeks for each year from 41, counting up to 20 years. The difference is the weekly pay cap: £783 in NI against £751 in Great Britain.

Worked example. Aged 45, 12 years' service, earning £900 a week. That is 14 weeks' pay (4 years at 1.5 weeks plus 8 years at 1 week):

  • Northern Ireland: 14 x £783 = £10,962
  • Great Britain: 14 x £751 = £10,514

The maximum statutory payment is £23,490 in NI (20 years x 1.5 weeks x £783), against £22,530 in Great Britain. The first £30,000 of a genuine redundancy payment is free of tax and National Insurance everywhere in the UK. Our redundancy guide covers notice, consultation and negotiation.

Statutory Sick Pay: the same as Great Britain

From 6 April 2026, SSP is paid from the first day of sickness, with no waiting days and no minimum earnings test, at the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings, for up to 28 weeks.

  • Earning £400 a week: SSP is £123.25 a week. Three days off on a five-day week pays £73.95.
  • Earning £120 a week: SSP is 80% of £120, £96 a week. Before April 2026, this person would have received nothing, as they earned below the old threshold.

See the Statutory Sick Pay Calculator and our guide to the April 2026 SSP changes.

National Minimum Wage: UK-wide

The minimum wage rates are set for the whole UK. From 1 April 2026: £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20, and £8 for under-18s and apprentices.

Flexible working

In NI, the statutory right to request flexible working is for employees with 26 weeks' continuous service, and you can make one request in any 12 months. Your employer must meet you within 28 days, and can refuse only for one of eight business reasons, such as extra costs or an inability to reorganise work. If refused, you can appeal in writing within 14 days.

In Great Britain, employees can request flexible working from their first day.

Practical tip: put your request in writing, dated, say it is made under the statutory right, and explain how your employer could make it work.

Unfair dismissal and tribunals

You normally need one year's service to claim unfair dismissal in NI, against two years in Great Britain. But the deadline is tighter: an NI claim must be made to an industrial tribunal within three months of dismissal, while in Great Britain most claims for dismissals from 1 October 2026 have six months.

Before you can lodge most claims, you must notify the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) for early conciliation. It is free and confidential. Notifying the LRA pauses the time limit for up to a month, and you need its certificate to go to tribunal. Cases about political or religious discrimination go to the Fair Employment Tribunal. Making a claim to either tribunal costs nothing.

What about the Good Jobs bill?

The Department for the Economy has proposed a Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill. Its published proposals include removing the 26-week wait for flexible working requests, allowing paternity leave to be taken up to 52 weeks after the birth, banded hours contracts for zero-hours workers, a new right to neonatal care leave and pay, and limits on fire and rehire. None of these is in force today, so the current NI rules above still apply.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Employment Rights Act 2025 apply in Northern Ireland? Mostly no. Its Statutory Sick Pay sections amend NI law, so the April 2026 SSP changes apply, but rights such as day-one paternity leave are for Great Britain only.

How many bank holidays does Northern Ireland have? Ten, including St Patrick's Day and the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July, with a substitute day, normally the following Monday, when it falls at a weekend.

What is the most statutory redundancy pay I can get in NI? £23,490, from 20 years of service at 1.5 weeks' pay capped at £783 a week.

The bottom line

Pay rules (SSP, SMP, SPP and the minimum wage) are the same in NI as in Great Britain. Rights at work are not: NI still requires 26 weeks' service for paternity leave and flexible working requests, gives a higher redundancy cap of £783, and has 10 bank holidays. Unfair dismissal protection starts sooner, after one year, but the three-month claim deadline is strict, so contact the LRA quickly if you are dismissed.

Check a redundancy payment with the Redundancy Pay Calculator (tick the Northern Ireland box), and use the Statutory Sick Pay Calculator and Holiday Entitlement Calculator for the rest.

Related calculators and guides

This article is for general guidance only and is not personalised legal or financial advice. Employment law is complex and your contract may give you more than the statutory minimum. For advice on your situation, contact the Labour Relations Agency or a qualified employment adviser. Statutory pay figures are for 2026/27 and sourced from gov.uk and nidirect.

Sources

Rates and rules in this article are taken from the official pages below. Figures were checked against these sources at the last review date shown above; always confirm against the source before acting.

About the author

, LLM (UK), CFP®, CIM®, PFP®. Financial planner with 18 years in banking and wealth management, holding a UK master of laws and the Canadian CFP®, CIM® and PFP® designations. Writes and reviews every calculator and article on FinanceToolz.

Rates and thresholds in this article are taken from HMRC and GOV.UK. See our editorial policy for how content is sourced, reviewed and corrected. This is general information, not regulated financial advice.

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