The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

Statutory right to request contract variation N.I.

112F.—(1) A qualifying employee may apply to his employer for a change in his terms and conditions of employment if—

(a) the change relates to—

(i) the hours he is required to work,

(ii) the times when he is required to work,

(iii) where, as between his home and a place of business of his employer, he is required to work, or

(iv) such other aspect of his terms and conditions of employment as the Department may specify by regulations, and

(b) his purpose in applying for the change is to enable him to care for someone who, at the time of application, is a child in respect of whom he satisfies such conditions as to relationship as the Department may specify by regulations.

(2) An application under this Article must—

(a) state that it is such an application,

(b) specify the change applied for and the date on which it is proposed the change should become effective,

(c) explain what effect, if any, the employee thinks making the change applied for would have on his employer and how, in his opinion, any such effect might be dealt with, and

(d) explain how the employee meets, in respect of the child concerned, the conditions as to relationship mentioned in paragraph (1)(b).

(3) An application under this Article must be made before the fourteenth day before the day on which the child concerned reaches the age of six or, if disabled, eighteen.

(4) If an employee has made an application under this Article, he may not make a further application under this Article to the same employer before the end of the period of twelve months beginning with the date on which the previous application was made.

(5) The Department may by regulations make provision about—

(a) the form of applications under this Article, and

(b) when such an application is to be taken as made.

(6) The Department may by order substitute a different age for the first of the ages specified in paragraph (3).

(7) In paragraph (3), the reference to a disabled child is to a child who is entitled to a disability living allowance within the meaning of section 71 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 ( c. 7).

(8) For the purposes of this Article, an employee is—

(a) a qualifying employee if he—

(i) satisfies such conditions as to duration of employment as the Department may specify by regulations, and

(ii) is not an agency worker;

(b) an agency worker if he is supplied by a person ( “the agent”) to do work for another ( “the principal”) under a contract or other arrangement made between the agent and the principal.