Northern Ireland: templates and forms

For an employee in Northern Ireland who is leaving their job: a letter that resigns, states the notice your contract requires (at least one week once you have worked a month, Article 118 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996) and the last day of employment, and asks for written confirmation, final pay including holiday earned and not taken, and your P45. Hand it to your manager and send it by email the same day, keeping a copy.

For a director of a private limited company in the UK who is stepping down. The letter resigns with effect from a stated date, asks the company to notify Companies House within 14 days on form TM01 and update its records, and states that resigning as a director does not by itself end any job or shareholding. Under the model articles a resignation takes effect as it states once the company receives it. A company must keep at least one director who is an individual, so a sole director arranges a replacement first.

For an employee in Northern Ireland who needs time off beyond their holiday — a long trip, a family matter, study — and wants their employer's agreement: a letter asking for unpaid leave between two dates, with the return date, and asking the employer to confirm in writing your return to the same job and what happens to holiday, pension and benefits. There is no general right to unpaid leave; parental leave and time off for dependants are separate statutory rights. Hand it in and email it.

For a borrower or customer who cannot keep up with a loan, credit card, overdraft or bill after a change such as job loss, illness or a cut in income. The letter explains what has changed, offers a monthly payment you can afford and asks the creditor to accept it, freeze interest and charges, and confirm in writing. FCA rules require lenders to treat customers in financial difficulty with forbearance. Free debt advice is also available from MoneyHelper, StepChange and Citizens Advice anywhere in the UK, from National Debtline in Great Britain, and from Advice Direct Scotland and Advice NI. Send it by email and by first class post.

For a private tenant in Northern Ireland who wants to move out of a periodic tenancy, including one that has rolled on after a fixed term. A tenant ends it by notice to quit in writing: at least four weeks if the tenancy has lasted ten years or less, twelve weeks if longer (Article 14A of the Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006). The notice gives your end date with a saving clause, can ask the landlord to agree an earlier date, asks for a check-out and the deposit, and gives your new address. Send it by recorded delivery, or hand it over.

For anyone in Northern Ireland with a workplace or personal pension who wants to know what it is worth, or has lost touch with the scheme after moving house or changing job. A letter to the scheme administrator or provider asking for a statement of your benefits under the Northern Ireland pension disclosure regulations of 2014 — the value built up, any transfer value and the date you can take it — and updating your address. Posted first class. Find a lost scheme's contact details free with the Pension Tracing Service on GOV.UK.

For the driver or keeper of a vehicle given a penalty charge notice (PCN) for parking in Northern Ireland — on the street by the Department for Infrastructure, or in a council car park — who thinks it is wrong and has not yet received a Notice to Owner. The letter gives the ticket’s details, the reasons it should be cancelled and the evidence, and asks for any reduced charge to be held open. The online challenge route printed on the ticket does the same job; this letter suits post or email. Not for private car park charges.

For someone in Northern Ireland who needs another person to act for them in one matter only — selling a car, signing a contract, dealing with a bank account or a property sale while they are away. A deed (section 1 of the Powers of Attorney Act (Northern Ireland) 1971) naming the matter, what the attorney may sign and when the power ends, printed and signed in ink before a witness. If a letter of authority or the organisation’s own free form will do, use that first.

For a worker in Northern Ireland whose employer, or former employer, has not paid wages, final pay, overtime or holiday pay that is due: a letter setting out what is owed and how it is worked out, the total, the unlawful-deductions rule in Article 45 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, and 14 days to pay, naming the next steps — early conciliation with the Labour Relations Agency, which is free, then an industrial tribunal claim within three months. Sent first class and by email.

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 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 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 a consumer in Northern Ireland whose complaint to a trader has got nowhere — a refund refused, a deposit kept, money owed for faulty goods or poor work. The letter sets out the claim and the amount, lists your documents, 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 and can be started online. Northern Ireland has no pre-action practice direction like England's, but the letter shows the court that you tried to settle first. Send it by email and by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For).

For a consumer in Northern Ireland whose builder, decorator, garage, repairer or other service provider did the work badly or not as agreed. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a trader must perform a service with reasonable care and skill; the letter asks for the work to be put right at the trader's cost or, where that is not possible, for a price reduction (sections 49, 55 and 56), and is your final letter before a small claim in the county court, with 14 days to reply. Send it by email and by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For), with photos.

For an employee in Northern Ireland whose employer, or former employer, has not given them their papers: one letter asking for any of missing pay statements (Article 40 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996), a P60 for a tax year, the P45 after leaving, and the written statement of employment particulars due within two months of starting (Article 33). Fill in only the lines you need; the others drop out. It gives 14 days and names the next steps: an industrial tribunal reference, and telling HMRC. Sent first class and by email.

For a consumer who bought goods or a service online, by phone or away from the trader's premises and has changed their mind. The notice cancels the contract within the 14-day cancellation period of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, with no reason needed, and asks for a refund within 14 days. The model cancellation form the trader must give you, or its own online form, does the same job free. Send it by email and by first class post with a free certificate of posting, and keep a copy.

For a worker in Northern Ireland who wants to book paid holiday: a dated written request giving the first and last day and the number of working days, asking for written approval. Unless your contract or holiday rules say otherwise, regulation 18 of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 asks for notice of twice the length of the leave, and lets the employer refuse only by counter-notice as long as the leave. The Labour Relations Agency explains the rules free. Send it by email or hand it in.

For a pregnant employee in Northern Ireland: the written notice of your pregnancy, the expected week of childbirth, the date you want your maternity leave to start and the date for Statutory Maternity Pay, given by the end of the 15th week before the expected week, with your MAT B1 certificate enclosed or to follow. It asks your employer to confirm in writing, within 28 days, when your leave ends and what you will be paid. nidirect explains maternity pay and leave free. Hand it in and email it.

For an employee in Northern Ireland who is the child's father, or the mother's spouse, civil partner or partner, with 26 weeks' service by the 15th week before the baby is due: a notice of paternity leave — one week or two consecutive weeks, taken within 56 days of the birth — giving the expected week of childbirth, when the leave starts and the declaration that you will share responsibility for the child's upbringing. Northern Ireland keeps these rules; Great Britain's separate weeks and day-one right do not apply. Hand it in and email it.

For an employer in Northern Ireland taking someone on for a set period — maternity cover, a season, a project: a contract with an end date that is also the written statement of particulars Article 33 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 requires. It includes the protection of the Fixed-term Employees Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002, the four-year rule for successive contracts and early termination by notice, under the law of Northern Ireland. Each party should take advice before signing. Signed by both.

For a worker in Northern Ireland with a problem at work that talking has not solved — treatment by a manager or colleague, workload, pay, bullying, a change imposed without agreement: a formal written grievance under the Labour Relations Agency's Code of Practice, saying what happened and what you want, asking for a meeting without unreasonable delay and to bring a colleague or union representative. The LRA's Code and helpline are free. Hand it in and email it.

For an employer and an employee in Northern Ireland who agree that the employee will work partly or wholly from home: a signed variation of the contract setting out the pattern of days, the start date, equipment, any contribution to costs, workstation safety, data security, an optional trial period and how the arrangement can be reviewed or ended, under the law of Northern Ireland. Everything else in the contract stays the same. Signed by both; each keeps a copy.

For a worker in Northern Ireland with a disability or long-term health condition who needs changes at work — equipment, hours, duties, the workplace, how meetings are run: a letter asking the employer to make reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which still applies in Northern Ireland, describing the difficulty at work (not a diagnosis) and the changes asked for, and offering a meeting or an occupational health referral. Access to Work (NI) can also help. Sold blank, to complete by hand, as it holds health data.

For an employee in Northern Ireland with 26 weeks' service who wants to change their hours, days or place of work — part-time, compressed hours, home or hybrid working: a dated written application under Article 112F of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, giving your present pattern, the change, when it should start and its likely effect on the business, and saying you have made no other request in the last 12 months. The employer must meet you within 28 days. Hand it in and email it.