Employment law in Guernsey

WRITTEN STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR A DISMISSAL

QUALIFICATION FOR THE RIGHT

Where an employee with at least one year’s continuous employment is dismissed by their employer, or where a fixed term contract expires and is not renewed, the employee is entitled upon request to a written statement giving particulars of the reasons for their dismissal or termination.

In cases where the employee was pregnant, or on any contractual period of maternity leave, then the employee is entitled to receive a written statement, regardless of whether she makes a request or her length of service.

EXCLUSIONS

This right does not apply in cases where the employee ordinarily works outside of Guernsey.

ENFORCEMENT AND REMEDIES

An employee has the right to make a complaint to the Tribunal, within three months of the effective date of termination, on the grounds that the employer unreasonably failed to provide a written statement or that the particulars of the reasons given in purported compliance with this section are inadequate or untrue.

Where the Tribunal upholds a complaint by an employee, in addition to finding what the reason for dismissal was, it shall make an award equal to half a month’s pay or two weeks’ pay (where the employee was paid weekly).

COMMENTS

The entitlement to receive a written statement of reasons for a dismissal, whilst important in theory, should not cause employers too much difficulty, as in any letter of dismissal it is best practice to include a reason.

UNFAIR DISMISSAL

THE BASIC RIGHT

All qualifying employees have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. For the purposes of the law, dismissal means termination by the employer, non-renewal of a fixed term contract on its expiry, or constructive dismissal.

In order for a dismissal to be fair:

• it must be for one of the five potentially fair reasons, namely capability, conduct, redundancy, breach of statutory duty or restriction, or some other substantial reason; and
• the employer must act reasonably in treating the reason as sufficient for dismissing the employee.

QUALIFICATION FOR THE RIGHT

In order to qualify for the right, an employee must have been employed for a period of not less than one year, save where the reason for the dismissal is on one of the automatically unfair grounds (see below).

EXCLUSIONS

This right does not apply in cases where the employee ordinarily works outside of Guernsey, certain categories of mariners, or on the expiry of a fixed term where the employee has previously agreed to exclude the right to unfair dismissal in writing.

AUTOMATICALLY UNFAIR DISMISSALS

Where the principal reason for a dismissal is on one of the following grounds it will be considered as an automatically unfair dismissal:

Please see below for more information on the topics of sex discrimination and Sunday work.

ENFORCEMENT AND REMEDIES

Any claim must be brought within three months, beginning on the effective date of termination, or where it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to have been brought, within such further time as the Tribunal shall allow. Where a dismissal is with notice, it is permitted to bring a claim for unfair dismissal before the notice has expired.

Where the Tribunal upholds a complaint by an employee, it shall make an award equal to six months’ pay or 26 weeks’ pay (where the employee was paid weekly). Awards of compensation are not subject to reduction on the grounds that the employee has found alternative employment and so mitigated their loss, but can be reduced in circumstances where:

• the employee unreasonably refused an offer of re-employment by the employer; or
• in any other circumstances where it would be just and equitable to reduce the amount of the award of compensation.

In cases of automatic unfair dismissals, there is no reduction applied under the second ground set out above.

COMMENTS

When considering any judgment, the Tribunal will consider the relevant Codes of Practice (Codes) published by the Employment Relations Service which cover redundancy and disciplinary cases. The principles set out in these Codes are largely common sense and will mirror most internal disciplinary procedures, but if in doubt it is always advisable to refer back to these documents.

What is unusual about Guernsey is the fact that there is a single flat award of six months’ or 26 weeks’ pay in cases of unfair dismissal. Inevitably this figure will often influence negotiations over entering into compromise agreements, as the employer is always aware that this is a worst-case figure.

THE PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION (GUERNSEY) ORDINANCE, 2022

THE BASIC RIGHT

The Prevention of Discrimination (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2022 (PDO) came into effect on 1 October 2023 and makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the protected grounds of:

• disability;
• race;
• carer status;
• religion or belief; or
• sexual orientation.

A further protected ground of age is due to be added in 2025/26 and is currently at the consultation stage with industry.

The PDO runs in parallel to the existing SDO, although they have the same enforcement and remedies.

There are four main forms of discrimination:

• direct discrimination;
• indirect discrimination;
• discrimination by association; and
• discrimination arising from disability.

The PDO also sets out two main forms of prohibited conduct:

• harassment; and
• victimisation.

QUALIFICATION FOR THE RIGHT

The right extends beyond the employment context to include service providers when providing goods, services, education and accommodation and in the membership of clubs and associations. In that sense, it differs from the SDO, which applies in the employment context only.

ENFORCEMENT AND REMEDIES

Any claim must be brought within three months, beginning on the date of the act complained about, or where it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to have been brought within such further time as the Tribunal shall allow.

The basic compensation for claims of discrimination arising for claims of discrimination relating to employment is that a person is entitled to an award of:

• up to 6 months’ pay, or 26 weeks’ pay if paid weekly; and
• an amount payable for injury to feelings up to £10,000.

Where there is a joined complaint of discrimination and unfair dismissal, the maximum award a Tribunal can make is:

• up to 9 months’ pay or 39 weeks’ pay if paid weekly; and
• an amount payable for injury to feelings up to £10,000.

The exception to this is where in addition to other complaints, there is a claim or multiple claims of victimisation, in which case the Tribunal may make a further award of:

• up to 6 months’ pay, or 26 weeks’ pay if paid weekly; and
• an amount payable for injury to feelings up to £10,000.

It is recommended all employers should already have an equal opportunities policy which explains to staff the position of the company on such issues following the implementation of the PDO. In addition, it is recommended equal opportunities training should be given to staff, so that they can understand the risks involved, including the fact that it is possible for individuals to be personally liable for acts of discrimination as well as their employers. Appleby has been instrumental in assisting the States of Guernsey in creating guidance for the PDO.

For further information, see our guide to discrimination law in Guernsey.

REFUSING TO WORK ON SUNDAYS

THE BASIC RIGHT

Any protected shop workers or opted-out shop workers have the right not to be subjected to a detriment for refusing to work on a Sunday.

QUALIFICATION FOR THE RIGHT

Protected shop workers are deemed to be those who have been employed by the same employer prior to 1 July 2002 or any other shop workers whose contract of employment does not require them to work on Sundays.

All other shop workers can opt out of Sunday working by providing their employer with three months’ written notice saying that they object to Sunday working.

EXCLUSIONS

The right does not apply to those shop workers who are only employed to work on Sundays.

ENFORCEMENT AND REMEDIES

Any claim must be brought within three months, beginning on the date of act was complained about, or where it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to have been brought, within such further time as the Tribunal shall allow.

Where the Tribunal upholds a complaint by an employee, it shall make an award equal to one month’s pay, or four weeks’ pay (where the employee was paid weekly). For cases of dismissal on the grounds of refusal to work on Sundays, see the Unfair Dismissal section above.

COMMENTS

The procedure around workers opting out of Sunday working is complicated and any notice is required to contain certain prescribed information. For clients in the retail sector, it is advisable to have a policy on this area to avoid disputes.

CONTRACTING OUT AND COMPROMISE AGREEMENTS

THE BASIC RIGHT

Any provision which purports to exclude or limit any right, or otherwise to preclude any person from bringing proceedings before the Tribunal is void, with the exception of:

• an agreement by a fixed term worker to exclude their right to bring a claim for unfair dismissal upon expiry of their contract;
• an agreement reached following conciliation through the Employment Relations Service at the Commerce and Employment Department; or
• a valid compromise agreement.

COMPROMISE AGREEMENTS

It is possible for employees to waive any rights they may have to bring a Tribunal claim by entering into a valid compromise agreement which complies with the following conditions:

• the agreement is in writing;
• the agreement relates to the particular proceedings;
• the employee has received independent legal advice on the terms of the agreement;
• the adviser had in force at the time the advice provision for insurance;
• the agreement identifies the adviser; and
• the agreement states the conditions regulating compromise agreements are satisfied.

Legal advice on a compromise agreement can be given by a lawyer (which includes both Advocates of the Royal Court of Guernsey, members of the bar or solicitors in the UK) or a certified officer of the trade union.

COMMENTS

Although there is no legal requirement to contribute towards an employee’s legal costs of obtaining independent advice, it is certainly customary to do so.

SECONDARY PENSIONS

The Secondary Pensions (Guernsey and Alderney) Law (Secondary Pensions Law) came into force on a progressive basis for all employers on 1 July 2024.

ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES

The Secondary Pensions Law applies to all employees if they are resident in Guernsey, Herm, Jethou, or Alderney who are:

• between the age of 16 and state pension age;
• not in full time education; and
• earning more than the lower earnings limit each year for Social Security contributions.

Provided they satisfy the above criteria, an employee will be known as a “Designated Employee” and generally their employer is required to automatically enrol them into a pension scheme. However, even if an employee does not meet the above criteria and requests to join the relevant scheme (known as a Voluntary Employee), they must also be allowed to do so.

For the purposes of the Secondary Pensions Law, it makes no difference if an employee is full time, part time, or works on a zero hours’ contract. The employee must be covered by a secondary pension and the contributions owed are the same percentages of their salary.

MINIMUM CONTRIBUTIONS

The minimum contributions that an employer and employee must make are due to increase during the period 2024 – 2032 as follows: Furthermore, an employer can choose the levels of contributions into the scheme, provided this is the same or higher than the minimum contributions in the table above. It is also possible for the employer to pay all of the contribution itself, without the employee needing to make any contributions.

RELEVANT SCHEME

One of the most important points to note is that the relevant scheme must meet the requirements found in the Secondary Pensions Law. For a standard occupational defined contribution scheme, the requirements to become an “approbated scheme” which is the term the Secondary Pensions Law uses are as follows:

• be an approved scheme which complies with section 150(2) of The Income Tax (Guernsey) Law, 1975 (1975 Law);
• comply with the Pension Scheme and Gratuity Scheme Rules 2021, or under an equivalent or similar statutory pensions regulatory regime in the British Islands;
• meet the minimum contributions (as outlined above); and
• comply with certain new rules within the Law regarding refunds and triviality requirements (in particular, the relevant scheme must allow a member leaving after three months of the date of enrolment to choose between the making of a transfer payment into another scheme or deferred benefits).

For employers that do not have any kind of scheme in place, the States have also introduced Your Island Plan (YIP), which is an approved, compliant secondary pensions scheme. Further advice should be taken if any employee specifically requests to join YIP rather than an employer’s scheme.

WHAT INFORMATION DO EMPLOYEES HAVE TO BE PROVIDED WITH?

Prior to being enrolled, employees should be given the following information on their employer’s scheme so that they can make a comparison with YIP:

• the costs and charges of the scheme;
• the key parties responsible for the governance of the scheme;
• investment options; and
• retirement benefits.

Employers need to go further than simply providing a web address that contains information on the scheme. Instead, employees should be given this information in an accessible format. The relevant pension provider should be in a position to provide this information.

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR AN EMPLOYEE TO OPT OUT OF HAVING A PENSION?

An employee is able to opt out of a secondary pension scheme but only after their employer has enrolled them using a prescribed form. However, any opting out isn’t permanent so an employer will be required periodically to re-enrol any staff who have opted out.

MANDATORY PENSION SCHEMES

Some employers may choose to make it a condition of employment that all employees join their scheme, such that employees are not given the choice to opt out. Where this applies, employers do not have to give their staff the option of joining YIP.

SUMMARY OF KEY RIGHTS AND PENALTIES

This Overview was last updated in June 2025. It is routinely reviewed by Appleby and updated when changes to the law require it. This Overview is for general guidance only and does not constitute definitive advice.

For more specific advice on employment law in Guernsey please contact Richard Sheldon, Niall MacDonald or James Gallimore.