Northern Ireland: templates and forms

For a parent with parental responsibility who is not going on the trip: a signed letter consenting to the child travelling abroad, the Republic of Ireland included, with the other parent, grandparents, a school or another family. Taking a child under 16 out of the United Kingdom without everyone’s consent or the court’s leave can be an offence (Article 3 of the Child Abduction (Northern Ireland) Order 1985). There is no official form; the letter names the child, the trip and the dates.

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 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 a tenant in Northern Ireland who has moved out and is still waiting for the deposit. A letter before claim to the landlord or letting agent: it gives the date the tenancy ended, the deposit and the scheme protecting it — TDS Northern Ireland or myDeposits Northern Ireland — and asks for the deposit back within 14 days, or a written list of any deduction with evidence, saying which deductions you dispute. Next comes the scheme’s free dispute service, then a small claim in the county court (up to £5,000). If the deposit was never protected, report it to the council.

For an employee in Northern Ireland who has been dismissed, warned or demoted after a disciplinary process: a letter appealing within your employer's time limit, setting out your grounds and what you ask for, and requesting an appeal meeting before a manager not involved in the decision, with a companion. For a dismissal it is the appeal step of the statutory dismissal procedure Northern Ireland keeps, and asks for the reasons in writing. Hand it in and email it.

For a ratepayer in Northern Ireland writing to Land & Property Services, which bills and collects domestic rates: to ask for Lone Pensioner Allowance (20% off for people aged 70 or over who live alone) or Disabled Person’s Allowance (25% off for an adapted home), to say your landlord is liable for a rented home valued at £150,000 or less, to dispute a wrong bill, or to ask for a refund. LPS has free application forms and online services; this letter suits a case they do not fit. To challenge the capital value itself, use the review statement instead.

For a private tenant in Northern Ireland whose home needs repairs — damp and mould, a broken boiler, leaks, faulty electrics. The letter reports each problem in writing with dated photos, reminds the landlord of the repairing duties the Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 sets where the tenancy agreement is silent and of the fitness standard, asks to arrange an inspection within 14 days, and confirms you will keep paying the rent. If nothing happens, the council’s environmental health team can inspect, free.

For a parent in Northern Ireland who needs their child to miss school days in term time — a family wedding or funeral abroad, a serious illness in the family, a parent's leave from the forces. A request to the principal: it gives the dates and the day of return, explains the circumstances you believe are exceptional and asks for a written decision before the absence. The Department of Education's guidance lets a principal authorise term-time absence only in exceptional circumstances and no longer has a code for an agreed family holiday. Sent by email or handed in well in advance.

For a private landlord or letting agent in Northern Ireland to confirm the rent a tenant has paid — for a benefit claim, a mortgage or visa application, a new landlord’s reference or the tenant’s own records. It names the property, the landlord registration number, the rent and how often it is paid, the period covered and each payment received, and states whether any arrears are owed, signed and dated. A landlord must give a free written receipt for rent paid in cash (Article 5 of the Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006).

For a business in Northern Ireland owed money by a company or LLP that has not paid an invoice. The final letter before a claim: it sets out the debt, claims statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England reference rate and the fixed sum of £40, £70 or £100 under the Late Payment Act (or the interest your contract sets), gives 14 days to pay or dispute, and names the next step — a claim in the county court, heard as a small claim up to £5,000. It goes by Royal Mail Signed For or by hand.

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 resident of Northern Ireland unhappy with a council service or decision — bins and recycling, street cleaning, environmental health, planning, building control, leisure centres, council car parks, or poor handling of an earlier request: a formal complaint under the council's complaints procedure, saying what happened, what you have done so far and what you want the council to do. Use the council's online form if it has one. If you are still unhappy after its final reply, the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman looks at complaints free of charge.

For a consumer in Northern Ireland whose goods from a business turn out faulty, not as described or unfit for their purpose. Within 30 days you can reject them for a full refund; after that, you ask for one repair or replacement first (Consumer Rights Act 2015, sections 9 to 23). The letter states the fault and your choice, and is your final letter before a claim: the trader has 14 days to reply before you make a small claim in the county court, which hears claims of up to £5,000. Send it to the retailer, not the manufacturer, by email and by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For).

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 a private tenant in Northern Ireland whose landlord has not dealt with serious problems — damp and mould, no heating, dangerous electrics, vermin. The letter asks the district council’s environmental health team to inspect the home against the fitness standard and take action against the landlord, such as a notice requiring repairs. Many councils take inspection requests online or by phone, free; this letter sets out the problems, the history of your reports and the photos in one place, by post or email.

For someone in Northern Ireland chased by a debt collector or debt buyer for a debt they do not recognise, dispute or believe is more than six years old. The letter does not acknowledge the debt: it asks for proof — the agreement, a statement of account, the default notice and the assignment — or states that the debt is statute-barred under the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 and will not be paid, which FCA rules require a firm collecting a regulated credit debt to respect. Send it by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For), and keep a copy.

For a private tenant in Northern Ireland whose landlord has broken a rule the district council enforces: a deposit not protected within 28 days, the deposit information not given within 35 days, a deposit of more than one month’s rent, no landlord registration, no tenancy information notice, or no receipt for rent paid in cash. The letter reports it to the council’s environmental health team, which can give the landlord a fixed penalty or prosecute. In Northern Ireland this replaces a court claim for a multiple of the deposit.

For a homeowner or tenant in Northern Ireland who lives in the home and wants a lodger to leave. The notice refers to your lodger agreement, gives the date it ends — at least four weeks ahead in writing (eight weeks once the lodger has lived with you for more than a year), or the longer period the agreement sets — asks for the room to be cleared and the keys returned, and says what happens to the deposit. Hand it over in person and keep a copy the lodger has signed. Not for a tenant who has the home or part of it to themselves: a landlord’s notice to quit is a different document.

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 someone in Northern Ireland who has revoked a power of attorney given under the Powers of Attorney Act (Northern Ireland) 1971: a letter to a bank, building society, utility, landlord or any organisation the attorney has dealt with, saying the power has ended, asking it to stop taking the attorney’s instructions and to confirm this in writing. It encloses a copy of the deed of revocation and goes by Royal Mail Signed For or by hand.

For the registered keeper of a vehicle in Northern Ireland who has received a notice under Article 177 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 asking who was driving, usually with a speeding or other motoring offence notice. Fill in the form sent with it, then send it with this letter, which names you or another driver, names the keeper if you had sold the vehicle, or explains what you did to find out. Reply within the time the notice gives: failing to name the driver is an offence carrying six penalty points.

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 a parent in Northern Ireland who believes their child has, or may have, special educational needs the school cannot meet from its own resources. A request to the Education Authority for a statutory assessment, the step towards a statement of special educational needs: it sets out your reasons and evidence, asks for the decision within the time limits that apply, and asks for reasons and your appeal rights if the Authority refuses. Posted first class; the Education Authority also has a free online form. Sold blank, as it holds a child's health data.