Contracts of employment: key differences in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Original author: Sue Johnstone
Updating author: Zuraida Curtis
Consultant editor (Scotland): Gillian MacLellan, consultant editor (Northern Ireland): Gareth Walls
Future developments
Scotland: There are no future developments specific to Scotland.
Northern Ireland: Under provisions in the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, the Government may make regulations to prevent abuses in connection with the use of: zero-hours contracts; non-contractual zero hours arrangements; or workers' contracts, of a kind to be specified in the regulations. No such regulations have yet been published. However, on 1 July 2024, the Northern Ireland Government launched a consultation on The 'Good Jobs' Employment Rights Bill. The consultation seeks views on proposals aimed at "strengthening employment legislation" which may progress under an Employment Bill and supporting secondary legislation.
The consultation proposes to limit or restrict the use of zero-hour contracts and associated practices that are detrimental to workers who do not have guaranteed hours, and seeks views on:
- whether there should be an outright ban on zero-hours contracts or should they be permitted under certain circumstances;
- whether to introduce a right for workers that meets eligibility criteria to move to a banded hours contract that better reflects the hours they actually work;
- whether a right to make a statutory request for a more predictable contract could be an effective way of providing a pathway for workers in atypical contracts to seek more predictable working arrangements;
- an appropriate qualifying period;
- measures to ensure employers give reasonable notice of available work;
- measures to reduce situations where workers are expected to work and do not receive work, or shifts are cancelled at short notice; and
- whether there should be a ban on exclusivity clauses in certain employment contracts.
The consultation also seeks views on whether legislation should be introduced to ensure that:
- written statements are provided to all workers;
- the right to a written statement is a day one right; and
- more information is included in written statements.
The consultation closed on 30 September 2024.
Scotland
The common law contract of employment rules in England and Wales and Scotland are essentially the same and decisions in one jurisdiction are used as persuasive precedents in another.
