The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

General provisions about death of employer or employeeN.I.

Institution or continuance of tribunal proceedingsN.I.

248.—(1) Where an employer has died, any tribunal proceedings arising under any of the provisions of this Order to which this Article applies may be defended by a personal representative of the deceased employer.

(2) This Article and Article 249 apply to—

(a)Part III, so far as it relates to itemised pay statements,

(b)Part V,

(c)Part VI,

(d)Part VII, apart from Articles 86 to 88,

(e)Parts VIII and IX,

(f)in Part X, Articles 124 and 125, and

(g)Parts XI to XIV.

(3) Where an employee[F1 or worker] has died, any tribunal proceedings arising under any of the provisions of this Order to which this Article applies may be instituted or continued by a personal representative of the deceased employee[F1 or worker].

(4) If there is no personal representative of a deceased employee[F1 or worker], any tribunal proceedings arising under any of the provisions of this Order to which this Article applies may be instituted or continued on behalf of the estate of the deceased employee[F1 or worker] by any appropriate person appointed by the industrial tribunal.

(5) In paragraph (4) “appropriate person” means a person who is—

(a)authorised by the employee[F1 or worker] before his death to act in connection with the proceedings, or

(b)the[F2 surviving spouse, surviving civil partner], child, parent or brother or sister of the deceased employee[F1 or worker];

and in Part XII and the following provisions of this Article and Article 249 references to a personal representative include a person appointed under paragraph (4).

(6) In a case where proceedings are instituted or continued by virtue of paragraph (4), any award made by the industrial tribunal shall be—

(a)made in such terms, and

(b)enforceable in such manner,

as the Department may by regulations provide.

(7) Any reference in the provisions of this Order to which this Article applies to the doing of anything by or in relation to an employer or employee[F1 or worker] includes a reference to the doing of the thing by or in relation to a personal representative of the deceased employer or employee[F1 or worker].

(8) Any reference in the provisions of this Order to which this Article applies to a thing required or authorised to be done by or in relation to an employer or employee[F1 or worker] includes a reference to a thing required or authorised to be done by or in relation to a personal representative of the deceased employer or employee[F1 or worker].

(9) Paragraphs (7) and (8) do not prevent a reference to a successor of an employer including a personal representative of a deceased employer.

Rights and liabilities accruing after deathN.I.

249.—(1) Any right arising under any of the provisions of this Order to which this Article applies which accrues after the death of an employee[F3 or worker] devolves as if it had accrued before his death.

(2) Where an industrial tribunal determines under any provision of Part XII that an employer is liable to pay to a personal representative of a deceased employee—

(a)the whole of a redundancy payment to which he would have been entitled but for some provision of Part XII or Article 248, or

(b)such part of such a redundancy payment as the tribunal thinks fit,

the reference in paragraph (1) to a right includes any right to receive it.

(3) Where—

(a)by virtue of any of the provisions to which this Article applies a personal representative is liable to pay any amount, and

(b)the liability has not accrued before the death of the employer,

it shall be treated as a liability of the deceased employer which had accrued immediately before his death.

[F4Time limits in relation to certain mediated cross-border disputesN.I.

249A.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies where—

(a)there is mediation in relation to a relevant cross border dispute giving rise to a reference or complaint to an industrial tribunal under this Order; and

(b)the fixed period of time specified by this Order for the making of that reference or complaint (“the limitation period”) would, apart from this Article, expire—

(i)in the period of 8 weeks after the date on which the mediation ends;

(ii)on the date on which the mediation ends; or

(iii)after the date on which all of the parties to the dispute agree to participate in the mediation but before the date on which the mediation ends.

(2) Where this paragraph applies, the limitation period is extended so that it expires on the date falling 8 weeks after the date on which the mediation ends.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1) and (2), a mediation in relation to a relevant cross-border dispute ends on the date of the first of these to occur—

(a)all of the parties reach an agreement in resolution of the dispute;

(b)all of the parties agree to end the mediation;

(c)a party notifies all of the other parties of that party's withdrawal,

(d)a period of 14 days expires after a request made by one party to another party for confirmation of whether the other party has withdrawn and the other party does not respond in that period, or

(e)a period of 14 days expires after the date on which the mediator's tenure ends (by reason of death, resignation or otherwise) and a replacement mediator has not been appointed in that period.

(4) In this Article—

“the Directive” means Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21st May 2008 on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters;

“mediation” and “mediator” have the meanings given by Article 3 of the Directive; and

“relevant cross-border dispute” means a cross-border dispute within the meaning given by Article 2 of the Directive.]