Staff one-pager pack for small NI employers
Four one-page sheets for taking on and managing a small team in NI. £19.
Who it’s for
Owners in Northern Ireland with 1 to 20 staff and no HR department: cafés, pubs, salons, shops, trades, cleaners, guest houses. You’re the one who rings the new starter, shows them the fire exit and gets the 6am text saying they’re sick.
What’s inside
- Offer-of-work checklist (NI). Right to work, AccessNI only if needed, minimum wage, holiday, sick pay, HMRC, pension, employers’ liability insurance, with the NI page to check for each.
- Offer wording. A plain message that says clearly it’s an offer of work, not a contract.
- First-day list. Fire exits, breaks, holiday booking, sickness reporting, till rules, details to collect. Both sign.
- Sickness text templates. Six short texts, plus the NI Statutory Sick Pay position from 6 April 2026.
- ‘Hours cut this week’ wording. A stop-and-check box first (contract, nidirect, Labour Relations Agency), then three careful templates.
- NI v GB table. The differences that catch people out, such as when the written statement is due.
- Worked example. A deli on the Ormeau Road: a 19-year-old new starter, a sick week, a quiet January.
- Word and PDF. Edit in Word or print.
How you use it
- Tick every line of the offer checklist before offering.
- Go through the first-day list with each new starter.
- Save the sickness texts on your phone.
- Before cutting hours, read the stop box and check nidirect / LRA.
- Keep a copy of every signed sheet and message.
What it won’t do
- It is not a contract of employment or a written statement of employment particulars.
- It won’t tell you whether you can cut someone’s hours. Check the contract, nidirect and the Labour Relations Agency.
- It doesn’t cover discipline, dismissal or redundancy. Get advice for those.
- It isn’t legal, tax or employment advice.
Worked example: a deli on the Ormeau Road
Harbour Lane Deli is made up. Six staff. The owner takes on Ciara, aged 19, for 16 hours a week over four days.
| Step | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum hourly rate (18–20) | £10.85 | From 1 April 2026; he pays £11.50 |
| Weekly gross | £184.00 | 16 × £11.50 |
| Holiday | 22.4 days a year | 4 days × 5.6 weeks, pro rata |
| Written statement | Within two months | NI rule; GB is different |
| SSP weekly rate | £123.25 | Lower of £123.25 and 80% of £184.00; from day one in NI since 6 April 2026 |
| Quiet January | Asked, not told | Her statement doesn’t allow lay-offs, so he asks; she agrees by text |
Every rate in the pack carries ‘check current nidirect / GOV.UK / LRA / your accountant’. NI employment law isn’t the same as GB, and changes on its own timetable.
Official figures last checked: 3 October 2026. Minimum wage (GOV.UK, nibusinessinfo); NI Statutory Sick Pay from 6 April 2026: £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings, from the first day, no lower earnings limit (Labour Relations Agency, legislation.gov.uk, nidirect); holiday 5.6 weeks, rest breaks, written statement within two months and lay-off guarantee pay £41 a day (nidirect). Rates and dates change. Check current GOV.UK / HMRC / nibusinessinfo / nidirect / your accountant before you rely on any of them.
- Written statement, NI (nidirect)
- SSP changes 2026, NI (Labour Relations Agency)
- Sick pay rights (nidirect)
- Holiday entitlements (nidirect)
- Temporary lay-offs (nidirect)
- Minimum wage rates (GOV.UK)
Belfast Desk Kit sells templates. We’re not HMRC, Invest NI, nibusinessinfo, a council, the Labour Relations Agency or a regulated adviser.