Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978

12 Right to guarantee payment

(1) Where an employee throughout a day during any part of which he would normally be required to work in accordance with his contract of employment is not provided with work by his employer by reason of—

(a) a diminution in the requirements of the employer's business for work of the kind which the employee is employed to do, or

(b) any other occurrence affecting the normal working of the employer's business in relation to work of the kind which the employee is employed to do,

he shall, subject to the following provisions of this Act, be entitled to be paid by his employer a payment, referred to In this Act as a guarantee payment, in respect of that day, and in this section and sections 13 and 16—

(i) such a day is referred to as a " workless day ", and

(ii) " workless period " has a corresponding meaning.

(2) In this section and sections 13 to 17, "day" means the period of twenty-four hours from midnight to midnight, and where a period of employment begun on any day extends over midnight into the following day, or would normally so extend, then—

(a) if the employment before midnight is, or would normally be, of longer duration than that after midnight, that period of employment shall be treated as falling wholly on the first day ; and

(b) in any other case, that period of employment shall be treated as falling wholly on the second day.