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Trade Union duties and activities
An employee who is an official of an independent trade union which is recognised by the employer must be allowed reasonable time off with pay during working hours to:
Induction
When an employee starts work, the employer has a duty of care towards them. This includes making sure that they can do the job safely and competently.
Conciliation services
We offer free conciliation services to help parties involved in a workplace dispute to come to a legally binding resolution, without needing to go through a public tribunal. We offer both individual conciliation and collective conciliation, for example where an issue affects a number of employees.
Types of contracts
In addition to contracts of employment, a number of other types of contracts exist.
Redundancy
When employers wish to make employees redundant they must follow a clear and fair process. The Labour Relations Agency has a redundancy flowchart which can help employers and employees in this situation.
Steps to resolve
When there is an issue in the workplace, employers and employees have a number of options and steps they can take to resolve it, ranging from informal conversations to formal processes and procedures.
Labour Relations Agency (Customer Standards of Service March 2024)
You can access the Labour Relations Agency's Customer Standards of Service by clicking on the link below
Independent appeals
The Agency also facilitates a range of independent appeals (mainly grievance, bullying / harassment and discipline), for example where the final stage of an organisation’s procedure offers the option of 'an independent appeal of the decision via the Labour Relations Agency'.
Hiring young people
There are certain laws that protect the employment rights of young workers. Such laws are around health and safety, what jobs young workers can do, when they can work and how many hours they can work. If you want to employ young people — in some cases, this can include people up to the age of 25 — it is important to be aware of your legal responsibilities.
Health & Safety at Work
Employers have a duty to protect their employees and visitors from harm. They must do risk assessments and they must report any serious incidents to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland. Employees are expected to take reasonable care of their own health and safety.