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Who we are
The Labour Relations Agency (the Agency) was established in 1976 with responsibility for promoting the improvement of employment relations in Northern Ireland. It is independent and publicly funded.
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'.
Equality statement
The Labour Relations Agency fully supports the elimination of all forms of discrimination in employment.
What we do
The Labour Relations Agency provides free, impartial and confidential services to employers, employer bodies, employees and workers in Northern Ireland, as well as Trade Unions, HR and legal professionals.
Types of contracts
In addition to contracts of employment, a number of other types of contracts exist.
Legislation
Welcome to the Labour Relations Agency’s employment legislation link pages. We have attempted to collate all relevant employment legislation (Primary and Secondary) on these pages for our users’ ease of reference. Essentially users will get a brief summary of the content of the legislation and then a link to the www.legislation.gov.uk website delivered by the National Archives via www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
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.
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.
About the Labour Relations Agency
We provide a free, impartial and confidential employment relations service to those engaged in industry, commerce and the public services. Our services include the provision of advice on good employment practices and assistance with the development and implementation of employment policies and procedures. We are also active in resolving disputes through our conciliation, mediation and arbitration services.
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.