Your rights at work in Jersey

These are the minimum terms the law gives every employee. A contract can give more, never less. The section numbers are articles of the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003.

When you start

• Written terms of employment within 4 weeks of starting (Art 3).
• An itemised payslip at or before each payment (Art 51).

Time off and rest

• 3 weeks’ paid leave a year, plus Christmas Day, Good Friday and public and bank holidays, or days in lieu (Art 11).
• A 20-minute break for every 6 hours worked, and a rest of 24 hours in every 7 days; by agreement this can be taken as two days in 14 (Art 10).
• Parental leave of 52 weeks, with up to 6 weeks paid by the employer (Arts 55D to 55H).

Zero-hours contracts

A clause that stops you working for anyone else is unenforceable (Art 6).

Notice

Your employer must give at least 1 week’s notice in the first 2 years, then 1 week for each year of service, up to 12 weeks. You must give at least 1 week (under 26 weeks’ service), 2 weeks (up to 5 years) or 4 weeks (after 5 years) (Art 56).

Dismissal and redundancy

• You can claim unfair dismissal after 52 weeks’ service. Some reasons are automatically unfair from the first day.
• Redundancy pay is due after 2 years’ service: one week’s pay, up to a weekly cap, for each year (Arts 60B, 60C).

Discrimination

The Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013 protects against discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, age and disability. It applies from the job advert onwards: an employer must not discriminate in how it decides who is offered a job.

Help

The Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS) gives free, impartial advice to employees and employers and conciliates in disputes. Time limits for claims are short, around 8 weeks, so ask early.

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