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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.
Webinar - Conducting Employment Investigations
This webinar will show how to plan and successfully execute an investigation, the legal framework and best practice for carrying out an investigation and will also give information on dealing with difficult issues.
No 159 The Sex Discrimination Order 1976 (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008
These Regulations make a variety of amendments to our anti-discrimination legislation as it pertains to gender and pregnancy only. As a result there is no longer a requirement for a comparator who is not pregnant when a woman is pursuing a case of discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity leave.
No. 439 (C.22) The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (commencement No.8) Order (Northern Ireland) 2001
This Order provides for certain powers and interpretation matters contained in S.27 and Schedule 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act (1996) eg – reasonable adjustments by service provides, alterations to leased premises and so on.
No 119 The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2011
This Order, one of a series of statutory rules relating to the annual uprating, provides for the rates of social security benefits, pensions and allowances from April 2011 (various dates from 3rd-14th April).
The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020
The purpose of these regulations is to reduce burdens on businesses employing salaried staff (those paid an annual salary in equal instalments) from complying with the NMW rules, without removing protections or benefits for workers.
Early Conciliation Explained - January 2020
Please see link below for further details
The Industrial Court (Membership) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022
These Regulations amend the Industrial Court (Membership) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 (the “Membership Regulations”).
Regulation 2 amends regulation 3 of the Membership Regulations by removing a number of the current legislative provisions in relation to members of the Industrial Court (the “Court”) holding and vacating office and replacing those provisions with a reliance on each member’s terms of appointment.
Regulation 3 contains a transitional provision for current members of the Court.
The Court is a non-departmental tribunal body whose main function is to adjudicate on applications relating to the statutory recognition or derecognition of trade unions for collective bargaining purposes, where this cannot be agreed voluntarily.
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (Amendment No. 4) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021
These Regulations are made in response to the serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Northern Ireland. Effective from 24/5/21, Regulation 4 introduces an exemption for gatherings in respect of lawful industrial action.