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The Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2019
This instrument amends the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) Order (Northern Ireland) 1979 (“the 1979 Order”) to give effect to changes to a criminal record ‘filtering scheme’ that allows some old and minor spent convictions to be ‘filtered, so that they are no longer disclosed and cannot be taken into account in employment decisions in certain circumstances. The 1978 Order makes it possible for certain convictions to become “spent”, which means that after a specified period a person can be treated for certain purposes as if the conviction had never happened and they need not, for example, tell an employer about the conviction when applying for a job.
To ensure that the public is adequately protected, however, certain exceptions to the 1978 Order are set out in the 1979 Order so that, for specified professions and occupations that typically involve a high degree of trust and often involve vulnerable persons, applicants must declare all past convictions when asked. The 1979 Order is amended periodically to ensure that the access to the criminal record disclosure regime keeps pace with changes in public risk; to ensure that disclosure regimes remain consistent across jurisdictions where appropriate; and to maintain the public trust and protection process.
This Order, the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2019 (“the 2019 Order”), stems from a Supreme Court judgment, which ruled that elements of the criminal record ‘filtering scheme’ operated by the Department of Justice were disproportionate. The ‘filtering scheme’ was established in 2014 following a review of the criminal records regime in Northern Ireland that was carried out by Sunita Mason during 2011, which recommended that the Department of Justice should filter old and minor convictions from standard and enhanced criminal record certificates; and to take account of the findings of two court cases concerning the disclosure of criminal record material at that time.
The terms of the scheme are that a conviction can be filtered after a period of 11 years (or 5.5 years for those under 18 at the time of the conviction), so long as the conviction was not for a specified offence as listed in the 1979 Order (e.g. serious violent and sexual offences; or offences of specific relevance for posts concerned with safeguarding children and vulnerable adults; etc.); did not attract a custodial sentence; and if there is no other conviction on the individual’s record.
The Supreme Court found that limiting the filtering scheme to a single offence, with the result that more than one old and minor conviction would be disclosed automatically, was disproportionate. The Department has, therefore, adjusted the terms of the scheme to allow more than one offence to be filtered in order to comply with the judgment.
The 2019 Order gives effect to this change by amending the 1979 Order to remove Article 1A(2)(c), which restricted the terms of the filtering scheme to a single conviction. The Department is satisfied that public protection is maintained, however, as the remaining elements of the filtering scheme will continue to ensure that there is no increased risk to the public as a result of this change.
The Coronavirus Act 2020
The Coronavirus Act 2020 creates a new, temporary, statutory right for eligible workers to take Emergency Volunteering Leave to assist the Health and Social Care system in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Sections 8 and 9 refer to Emergency Volunteers
6 Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2000
This Order increases, as from 5/3/00, the limits applying to certain awards of industrial tribunals, and other amounts payable under employment legislation, as specified in the Schedule to the Order. (Increases reflect increases in Retail Price Index from Sept’97-Sept’99).
No. 141 The Disability Discrimination (Guidance On The Definition Of A Disability) (Appointed Day) Order (Northern Ireland) 2008
This Order appoints 21/4/08 as the day for the coming into operation of new guidance entitled “Guidance to be taken into account when determining questions in relation to the definition of disability” as issued in Northern Ireland by OFMDFM.
No 146 The Shared Parental Leave and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015
This Order makes consequential amendments arising from Part 2 of the Work and Families Act (Northern Ireland) 2015. Part 2 makes provision for new entitlements to shared parental leave and statutory shared parental pay and abolishes additional paternity leave and additional statutory paternity pay.
No 91 The Statutory Shared Parental Pay (Administration) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015
These Regulations provide for the funding of employers' liabilities to make payments of statutory shared parental pay; they also impose obligations on employers in connection with such payments and confer powers on the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
No. 441 The Labour Relations Agency (Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures) (Jurisdictions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011
This Order comes into operation on 1/1/12 and essentially provides for complaints under Regulation 51 of the Companies (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2007 to be covered as a jurisdiction to which the new Labour Relations Agency Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance will apply.
Current Vacancies - Working for the Labour Relations Agency
Our role is to improve employment relations in Northern Ireland and our core business is the delivery of responsive advisory and dispute resolution services.
No. 163 The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (commencement No. 7) Order (Northern Ireland) 2001
This Order brings into operation aspects of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 relating to taxi drivers (taking guide dogs/hearing dogs), Departmental papers regarding exception applications and appeals.
No 621 The National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015
This instrument consolidates the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (“the 1999 Regulations”) and subsequent amending regulations with the purpose of making the rules clearer and more workable for employers and employees.