# How long do you have to be full time in your job to have employee rights?



## shootingstar (9 Oct 2008)

How long do you have to be full time in your job to have employee rights? 

Mr SS needs to know....


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## Card (9 Oct 2008)

*Re: Employee rights*

not being flippant but it depends what rights he wants?
some are automatic on commencement (eg breaks annual leave etc), some require the passage of time eg redundancy rights


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## FutureProof (9 Oct 2008)

*Re: Employee rights*

Depends on the probation contract, but I would have thought you would have most, if not all employee rights from the start.


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## shootingstar (9 Oct 2008)

*Re: Employee rights*

is there such a thing that after 12 months you have full rights???


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## cinders (9 Oct 2008)

*Re: Employee rights*

have a look at the National Employment Rights Authority website: [broken link removed] & the Citizen's Information website.  

as per Card's post, it will depend on the 'rights' concerned as to what he is entitled to, if he is permanent / temporary etc.


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## WaterSprite (9 Oct 2008)

*Re: Employee rights*

Probation does not matter, except where a contract of employment states different notice periods during probation - many will give minimum notice during probation and a longer period (e.g. a month) thereafter.  A distinction between "permanent" and "temporary" does not matter - if you are an employee (as opposed to a contractor), then (in summary):

Immediately, you are covered by anti-discrimination provisions
Immediately, you are covered by holiday, working hours, rest period provisions
After 12 months, you are covered by the Unfair Dismissals Acts
After 2 years, you are entitled to statutory redundancy

Certain different terms apply in relation to termination if you are a fixed term employee where the term of the contract expires.

The Unfair Dismissals Acts give the rights that most people judge to be important - from when they are applied, an employee cannot be terminated unless within the framework of the Acts.

Sprite


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## Purple (10 Oct 2008)

*Re: Employee rights*



WaterSprite said:


> Probation does not matter, except where a contract of employment states different notice periods during probation - many will give minimum notice during probation and a longer period (e.g. a month) thereafter.  A distinction between "permanent" and "temporary" does not matter - if you are an employee (as opposed to a contractor), then (in summary):
> 
> Immediately, you are covered by anti-discrimination provisions
> Immediately, you are covered by holiday, working hours, rest period provisions
> ...


Excellent reply, as usual.


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## shootingstar (10 Oct 2008)

It is excellent. its exactly what he needed to know. 

Thanks for that

SS


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## Havana (25 Oct 2008)

*Re: Employee rights*



WaterSprite said:


> Probation does not matter, except where a contract of employment states different notice periods during probation - many will give minimum notice during probation and a longer period (e.g. a month) thereafter. A distinction between "permanent" and "temporary" does not matter - if you are an employee (as opposed to a contractor), then (in summary):
> 
> Immediately, you are covered by anti-discrimination provisions
> Immediately, you are covered by holiday, working hours, rest period provisions
> ...


 

Just to clarify - if someone is on 6 month probation on a full time permanent contract they cannot be told they can have no leave until the probation has ended? Nor that they cannot take ant sick leave?

Came on to ask and think this answers my question....!


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## WaterSprite (25 Oct 2008)

*Re: Employee rights*



Havana said:


> Just to clarify - if someone is on 6 month probation on a full time permanent contract they cannot be told they can have no leave until the probation has ended? Nor that they cannot take ant sick leave?
> 
> Came on to ask and think this answers my question....!



Leave/holidays must be taken at a time agreed with the employer so the employer can regulate that no leave can be taken within the first 6 months.  However, an employer cannot e.g. refuse to either give a holiday or pay for a bank holiday occurring during the first 6 months. There is no legal entitlement to take holidays at any particular time.  The entitlement to holiday is (in general) 4 working weeks for a year, which means that not allowing holidays in the first 6 months is not breaching the rules relating to those entitlements.

There is also no legal entitlement to sick pay at all (either before 6 months or afterwards).  If an employer offers sick pay after 6 months, then that's an extra that they don't have to offer under the current legislation.  The employer can't "make" you work if you are sick during the first 6 months, but could take that time off your holidays.

A 6-month probation period has no relevance to _legal_ rights, but outside of the minimum legal rights, the employer can introduce different conditions for any other period.  Unfortunately for you, there is no legal right to take holidays _at any time_, nor is there any legal right to sick pay.

Sprite


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## Havana (25 Oct 2008)

Thanks, its not actually for me I'm trying to find out for a friend. 

It just seems a bit odd to me. Maybe it's because I work in a flexible environment with goodd holidays and sick pay.

What about the fact that the leave year runs from Jan to Dec, she started in September. I assume she is still entitled to holidays for Sept to Dec just not allowed take them. Which means she will have to carry them over, which surely isn't in the employers best interests as she will now have 16 months worth of AL to take in 2009?

I'll clarify with her re: sick pay - what she told me was that she was told she was not allowed any sick days during her probabtion period. Of course she may have picked it up wrong, and it may have related to pay.


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## becky (25 Oct 2008)

It may be that she has no entitlement to sick leave from the employer (if he paids for sick leave) in the first 6 months. If she for eg breaks her leg she has no choice but to go on sick leave.

Holidays - if the employer says she can't take hols for the first 6 months which is strange then yes she carries them over.


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