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Disclosure of information to trade unions for collective bargaining purposes
The Agency has a duty to provide practical guidance on the application of Articles 39 and 40 of the Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (“the 1992 Order”) in relation to the disclosure of information by employers to trade unions for the purpose of collective bargaining.
Review of Developments In Employment Law 2008-09
Patricia Maxwell
Senior Lecturer In Law
University Of Ulster
6th March 2009
Flexible Working: The Right to Request and Duty to Consider
Under provisions set out in the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and regulations made under it, all employees have a statutory right to ask their employer for a change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment to work flexibly.
404 The Disability Discrimination Code of Practice (Duties of Trade Organisations to their disabled members and applicants) (Appointed Day) Order (Northern Ireland) 1999
The appointed day for the commencement of this Code is 1/10/99 and as such enacts sections 13-15 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
No 30 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Regulated Activity, Devolution Alignment, and Miscellaneous Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland)
This order makes significant changes to the 2007 Order in a wide variety of areas from the definition of a regulated activity, disclosures to police and many other detailed functional and general amendments.
No 1894 The National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations 2008
These Regulations amend the 1999 Regulations by making some technical changes to wording but also changes the principal rates (commencing in October 2008) from £5.52 up to £5.73, (18-21 yr old rate) – will increase from £4.60 to £4.77, and those below 18 will see the rate increase from £3.40 to £3.53. Other changes in the Regulations relate to how a worker qualifies for NMW when on certain government schemes, the position regarding work trials, applicable accommodation values (£4.46) and so on.
219 (9) The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Commencement No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996
This Order stipulates 30th May 1996 as the day in which various components of the 1995 Act come into operation including issues such as: definition of disability, past disabilities, guidance, definitions of lease/sub-lease/sub-tenancy, advice and assistance, statutory authority, national security, restrictions on publicity in Industrial Tribunals, interpretation, supplementary provisions and so on.
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.
LRA response to DEL review of the NI employment dispute resolution system
4th September 2009
This paper gives the Agency's response to the Department of Employment and Learning's consultation questions.
Labour Relations Agency Arbitration Scheme - Guide to the Scheme
Revised January 2013
The Agency was given the power to introduce the Scheme by the Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992, as amended, and the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. Subsequently, the Scheme has been established by means of the Labour Relations Agency Arbitration Scheme Order (Northern Ireland) 2012.