Guernsey: Employee rights

Original and updating author: Rachel Guthrie, Mourant Ozannes

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Summary

• There are no statutory limits on the number of hours that an employee can work per day or week. (See Hours of work)
• Employees have no statutory entitlement to rest breaks during the working day, or to minimum daily or weekly rest periods. (See Rest breaks and rest periods)
• Shop workers are generally entitled not to work on Sundays. (See Sunday work)
• Employees have no statutory entitlement to paid or unpaid annual leave, or a paid day off on public holidays. (See Holiday and holiday pay)
• Employees are entitled to take statutory unpaid maternity or adoption leave, and the statutory period of such leave depends on their continuous length of service (See Maternity and pregnancy, adoption and parental rights)
• Employees may have a statutory entitlement to support leave, depending on their period of continuous service and their partner's eligibility to receive statutory maternity leave, but they have no statutory entitlement to leave to care for sick family members or compassionate leave. (See Other leave)
• Employment legislation applies to part-time employees and they benefit from the same rights as full-time employees. (See Part-time workers)
• Employees on fixed-term contracts generally have the same employment rights as employees on open-ended contracts, subject to some special rules. (See Fixed-term workers)
• There are no specific laws on remote working, but employers should have policies and procedures in place. (See Remote workers)
• In the event of the transfer of a business, the employment contracts of the employees concerned do not automatically transfer to the new owner. (See Transfers of undertakings)
• In the event of an employer's insolvency, certain pay-related claims of employees are treated as preferential debts. (See Insolvency of employer)
• There is no statutory regulation of disciplinary and grievance procedures, but an official code of practice provides guidance on some relevant matters. (See Grievance and disciplinary procedures)
• Data protection legislation applies to the employment relationship. (See Data protection)