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The Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (Commencement No. 3) Order (Northern Ireland) 2020
This Order brings into operation certain provisions of the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 on 27th January 2020.
Article 2(a) to (e) commence provisions on early conciliation of employment disputes.
Article 2(f) commences the provision which places an obligation on the Department to review early conciliation.
Article 2(g) and (h) commences the provisions that permits the Department to make regulations which provide that the members of the panel of chairmen of industrial tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal may be referred to as employment judges.
Article 2(i) commences the provision which prohibits the Labour Relations Agency, or persons appointed by the Agency, from releasing information relating to a worker, employer of a worker, or a trade union, that they hold in the course of performing their functions.
Article 2(j) corrects a small number of references in the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, dealing with statutory shared parental pay, which were introduced by the Work and Families Act (Northern Ireland) 2015
Article 2(k) updates legislative references in Schedules 2 and 4 to the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2003.
Article 2(l) and (o) gives effect to the dispute resolution repeals in Schedule 3 of the Act.
Article 2(m) and (n) gives effect to Schedules 1 and 2, which respectively, make minor and consequential amendments to existing legislation, and set out how the relevant time limits for bringing a claim will be extended where necessary to provide sufficient time for early conciliation to take place and to ensure that the claimant is not disadvantaged.
Informal actions
Whether it’s the employer who needs to raise an issue with an employee, or an employee who would like to make a complaint to their employer, it is useful to consider in the first instance whether an informal approach could be taken to resolve the matter.
Restraint of Trade
Restraint of trade, also known as ‘restrictive covenants’ help organisations to protect themselves against competitors getting access to their confidential or commercially sensitive information.
Working Time Regulations
In addition to the rights outlined around qualifying periods, a number of other rights and responsibilities exist. These relate to rest breaks, the number of hours a worker can be required to work and paid leave.
Time off for trade union duties and activities
An employee who is an official of an independent trade union is entitled to paid time off in certain circumstances.
Interviews
When replies to the job advertisement have been received, it is appropriate to:
• match applications against the job description and person specification;
• eliminate applicants who do not have the basic requirements for the job; and
• draw up a shortlist of candidates for interview.
Discrimination when hiring
Fair treatment is not just a moral and legal obligation but makes good business sense. Employers who treat employees fairly will be best placed to recruit and retain staff in an increasingly diverse and competitive labour market.
Industrial action
This section includes information on official industrial action; unofficial industrial action; repudiation of industrial action; and lawful industrial action.
Contractor versus Employee versus Worker
Employees, workers and contractors have different rights and responsibilities.
The Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016
These Regulations consolidate and replace the provisions of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 (the ‘1998 Regulations’) and the ten Statutory Rules which amended it from 1998 to 2009.