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Labour Relations Agency launches all new Employer Toolkit for NI businesses
Free advice and document guidance now online…from managing bullying to menopause transition in the workplace
LRA Confirms Spike in Calls from Distressed Hospitality Sector
NI’s Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has recorded a spike in calls from the local hospitality sector following the emergence of the Omicron variant and tightening of public health restrictions and introduction of new guidance to respond to this.
Essentials of Employment Law
This seminar is a perfect introduction to the essentials of employment law.
New rates for statutory payments in force from April 2024.
From April 2024 a number of statutory payment rates increase for the 2024-25 financial year.
Below are the links which relate to the changes in respect of Social Security Benefits and the increases in limits to the Employment Rights Order.
Labour Relations Agency Tees Off Event on Hiring Seasonal Staff
Employers in the Causeway Coast and Glens area, who plan to hire seasonal staff during the 148th British Open golf tournament, are invited to attend a free event jointly hosted by the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) and local Council.
Labour Relations Agency retains Bronze Diversity Mark
The Labour Relations Agency has successfully retained the Bronze Diversity Charter Mark in recognition of their ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion within the workplace.
Managing Performance
Managing employee performance is a continuous process and involves ensuring that employees are contributing to organisational aims and objectives. This seminar provides practical guidance on how organisations can do this. Participants will also receive direction on how to recognise and deal with unsatisfactory performance when it arises.
The seminar will last for 2.5 hours.
LRA launches Flexible Future 24 Conference
Contemporary flexible working practices, and their potential to power productivity and a more inclusive labour market will be the focal point of the Labour Relations Agency’s upcoming annual conference.
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.
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.