An employer can put someone on short time working, or lay them off (not make them redundant) for temporary periods if they have a right written in their Contract of Employment or it is custom practice in the industry they work in for example, the building industry.

If any employee is placed on short time working or is laid off without their being a contractual right or implied right in relation to that industry, the action by the employer would amount to a breach of Contract entitling the employer to obtain unlawful deduction from wages or consider making a claim for constructive dismissal. An employer may not exercise this clause without due cause i.e. there must be a genuine reason why the person should be laid off or short working be provided. Normally this would be reasons such as working conditions or refurbishment of the premises.

Section 28 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 states if someone is laid off or put on short time work, they are entitled to a guaranteed payment for the days that they are excluded from working up to a maximum of guarantee payment which is currently under the legislation, £18.40 per day up to 5 days. This is from the 1st February 2005. They can only be placed on a guaranteed minimum for five days in any 3 months period. Therefore, this equates to £92.00.

After 4 weeks of being laid off or on short time working, an employee can insist by notice that the employer guarantees 13 weeks of continuous work. If not, he or she can claim redundancy pay.

In conclusion on this particular chapter, please note that lay off is not the same as redundancy. It is frequently confused by people and the term is misused in relation to being laid off as opposed to being made redundant. Being laid off is a temporary cessation of work, redundancy is a permanent loss of job.