English: templates and forms

For an employee in Northern Ireland made redundant after at least two years' continuous employment whose redundancy pay has not been paid: the written claim to the employer that the law asks for within six months, giving the dates, your figure if you have one, 14 days to pay and a request for the written calculation, then naming early conciliation with the Labour Relations Agency and the industrial tribunal. A week's pay counts up to £783 from April 2026. nidirect explains redundancy pay free. Sent by recorded delivery and by email.

For a private landlord or letting agent in Northern Ireland who needs to enter a tenant’s home to inspect it, carry out repairs, or arrange the annual gas safety check or the five-yearly electrical inspection. The notice gives the date, time and purpose, says who will attend, carries the landlord registration number and invites the tenant to propose another time. A tenant must allow entry at reasonable times on reasonable notice (Article 12 of the Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006); no one enters without agreement except in an emergency.

For a patient or service user in Northern Ireland, or someone complaining with their consent, unhappy with care from a GP practice, a dentist, a hospital or another health and social care service. A formal complaint to the trust or practice under the complaints procedure every HSC organisation has followed since 1 January 2026: it says what happened and what you want done, asks for an answer within the procedure's time limits and names the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman as the next step. The Patient and Client Council helps free. Sent by email. Sold blank, as it holds health data.

For a household customer in Northern Ireland with a problem with their electricity or gas supplier: a wrong or estimated bill, a catch-up bill for energy used more than 13 months ago, a meter fault or poor service. The letter is the formal complaint the supplier must deal with under its complaints procedure; if it is not resolved, the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland takes energy complaints free, and publishes its own free letter for a disputed bill. Send it by email or first class post, and keep the date.

For anyone whose request to a Scottish public authority under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 was refused in whole or part, answered incompletely or not answered within 20 working days: a requirement for review under section 20 of the Act, giving your reasons and asking for the outcome within 20 working days. It is the step before an application to the Scottish Information Commissioner. Send it by email to the authority's FOI address within 40 working days of its reply, or of the date its reply was due.

For a parent in Northern Ireland who wants to see, or have a copy of, their child's educational record held by a school. A request to the principal under the Northern Ireland pupil records regulations of 2007: a grant-aided school must make the record available within 15 school days of a written request, and any charge for a copy may not exceed the cost of supply. For a school the regulations do not cover, the letter asks for the same information under the UK GDPR instead. Sent by email or handed in at the school office.

For an employer in Northern Ireland taking on an employee on a permanent contract: a contract that is also the written statement of employment particulars Article 33 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 requires within two months of the start. It sets out the job, place of work, pay, hours, at least 5.6 weeks' holiday, sick pay, pension enrolment, notice under Article 118 and where the disciplinary and grievance rules are, under the law of Northern Ireland. Signed by both; each keeps a copy.

For anyone who wants information held by a Scottish public authority — the Scottish Government, a council, a health board, Police Scotland, a school or a university: a request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, also covering environmental information, asking for a reply within 20 working days (Scottish bank holidays excluded). No reason is needed. Many authorities have their own online form or FOI email address, free. A UK-wide body such as HMRC or the DWP answers under the UK Act instead: use the Freedom of information request to a public authority (UK).

For someone in Northern Ireland who gave a general or one-off power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 and wants to end it. The deed revokes the power from its date and is printed and signed in ink before a witness. Give a copy to the attorney and to every bank or body that has dealt with them: until they know, they may be protected if they rely on the power (section 4 of the 1971 Act). Not for an enduring power registered with the Office of Care and Protection.

For a private landlord or letting agent in Northern Ireland whose tenant has fallen behind with the rent. The letter sets out the arrears period by period, asks the tenant to pay or propose a repayment plan by a set date, points to free advice from Housing Rights, Advice NI and others, and carries the landlord registration number. It says that if the arrears are not resolved the landlord may end the tenancy by notice to quit, as the law and the tenancy allow, and then apply to the court. It never threatens to change the locks or remove belongings.

For an employer and an employee in Northern Ireland: an agreement that the employee keeps the employer's confidential information secret during and after the employment, keeps it secure and returns it on leaving. It states plainly what it does not stop — whistleblowing under the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, reporting a crime, speaking about harassment, discrimination or pay — and contains no non-compete or other restriction after the job ends. Governed by the law of Northern Ireland. Signed by both.

For an unmarried couple in Northern Ireland who live together, or are about to: a written agreement on how you share the rent or mortgage and bills, what each of you owns, joint accounts and debts, and what happens to your belongings if you separate. There is no ‘common-law marriage’, so the law gives cohabitants far fewer claims than spouses. Each of you should take independent legal advice before signing; who owns the home stays as the title and any declaration of trust say.

For the end of a private tenancy in Northern Ireland. It records the day the keys were returned, the final meter readings, the condition of each room compared with the check-in report and anything the tenant does not accept. Signed by both — or, if the landlord or agent does not attend, completed by the tenant alone with dated photos and sent the same day by email and by recorded delivery. It is the evidence the free dispute service of TDS Northern Ireland or myDeposits Northern Ireland weighs.

For the registered keeper of a vehicle in Northern Ireland who has received a Notice to Owner for a parking penalty charge from the Department for Infrastructure or a council and wants it cancelled. The letter makes formal representations on a ground printed on the notice — for example that the contravention did not occur, or that the vehicle had been taken without consent — with the facts and the evidence. Send it within the time the notice gives; if it is rejected, the Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal hears a free appeal.

For a private tenant in Northern Ireland who has not been given the tenancy information notice — the free notice of the main facts of the tenancy that a landlord must give within 28 days of the tenancy starting, and again within 28 days of a change. The letter asks for it within 14 days and names the next step: the district council, which enforces the rule and can give a landlord who does not comply a fixed penalty. Short, polite, and a dated record of when you asked.

For anyone in Scotland aged 16 or over who is changing their first name, surname or both — after marriage, divorce or by choice — and needs proof for their bank, employer, HM Passport Office or DVLA. In Scotland no deed poll is needed: a statutory declaration, declared before a notary public or a justice of the peace, records the change, and HM Passport Office accepts one. If you were born or adopted in Scotland, National Records of Scotland can also record the change against your birth record, by post, for a fee; its form is the official route for the register.

For two private individuals in Northern Ireland — relatives, friends, a couple — lending money to each other, with or without interest. The agreement records the amount and when it was paid over, the interest if any, the final repayment date or monthly instalments, and what happens if a payment is missed, under the law of Northern Ireland. A loan between private people, not made in the course of a business, needs no FCA authorisation, falls outside most of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and needs no registration or stamp duty. Both sign it, and each keeps a signed copy.

For a tenant in Scotland with a private residential tenancy who wants to take in a lodger, or sublet a room or the whole home. The statutory terms of every private residential tenancy forbid this without the landlord’s written agreement, and breaking a term of the tenancy can be relied on as an eviction ground. The letter says what you ask for, who would move in, where and for how long, confirms you remain responsible for the rent and every term of your tenancy, and asks for a written answer within 14 days. Not for council or housing association tenants, whose tenancies have their own rules.

For a consumer in Northern Ireland who bought a used car from a dealer and found a fault. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the car must be of satisfactory quality for its age, mileage and price, and as described. The letter describes the fault and asks for the remedy you choose: rejection and a refund within 30 days of delivery, a repair or replacement, or, after a failed repair, a refund or a price reduction. It gives 14 days, then a claim in the county court — a small claim up to £5,000. Not for a private sale.

For a parent or anyone else with parental responsibilities and rights who is not going on the trip: a signed letter consenting to a child travelling abroad with the other parent, grandparents or a school. In Scotland no one may take a child under 16 who lives here habitually out of the United Kingdom without the consent of a person who has the right to have the child living with them or to keep in contact — of both parents, where both have it (Children (Scotland) Act 1995, s 2(3) and (6)). There is no official form. The letter names the child, the trip and the dates, and gives your telephone number so that border staff or an airline can check it.

For the keeper of a vehicle in Scotland who has received a council's Notice to Owner for parking, an enforcement notice for pavement, dropped kerb or double parking, or a penalty charge notice sent by post for a bus lane or a Low Emission Zone, and wants it cancelled. The letter makes formal representations on a ground printed on the notice — the contravention did not occur, you were not the owner, the vehicle was taken without consent, the charge was too high, or another ground listed — with the facts, the evidence and any compelling reasons. It must reach the council within the time on the notice; the council's free online form does the same.

For a business in Northern Ireland ending a contract with a supplier, customer or other business, either on the notice the contract allows or because the other side has seriously broken it. The letter identifies the contract and the clause relied on, gives the end date, describes any breach, and records that payments due and surviving terms continue. Follow the contract’s notices clause on address, method and timing, and keep proof of delivery. Ending a contract for a breach that is not serious enough can itself be a breach, so take advice if unsure.

For someone in Scotland chased by a debt collector or debt buyer for a debt they do not recognise, dispute or believe is more than five years old. National Debtline and StepChange publish free sample letters for a prescribed debt. This one acknowledges nothing: it asks for proof — the agreement, a statement of account, the default notice and the assignation — or states that the debt has prescribed under section 6 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, so that it no longer exists, and will not be paid. Send it by recorded delivery, and keep a copy.

For a private individual in Northern Ireland owed money by another individual — an unrepaid loan, a share of a bill, money paid for something never handed over. The letter sets out the debt and gives 14 days to pay or reply, and says that otherwise you will make a small claim in the county court, which hears claims of up to £5,000, or bring proceedings in court for a larger sum. Northern Ireland has no fixed pre-action rule, but the letter shows the court that you asked for the money first. Send it by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For), and by email.