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391 Disability Discrimination (Exemption for Small Employers) Order (Northern Ireland) 1998
This Order lowers the small employer exemption threshold (available under Section 7 (1)) from 20 employees to 15 employees.
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.
Increase of limits on Tribunal awards and payments under employment rights legislation
The Department for the Economy has made a statutory rule entitled The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2023 (legislation.gov.uk).
The Order increases, from 6 April 2023, limits applicable to certain awards and payments under employment rights legislation in line with the Retail Prices Index.
The Department has issued a press release relating to the above changes in limits - https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/news/department-economy-announces-annual-increase-limits-unfair-dismissal-and-redundancy-payments.
For details on the limits for previous years, please access the following link https://www.legislation.gov.uk/primary+secondary?title=The%20Employment…
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.
Workplace policies
Clear workplace policies and procedures help organisations to be productive, efficient and maintain high levels of staff morale. Ensuring that everyone knows how and why things are done is a key component in establishing best employment practice. Check out our free 'Employment Document Toolkit' to create your own policies and procedures that adhere to legal requirements and best practice, and which meet the particular needs of your organisation.
Maternity, Paternity and Parental leave
Pregnant employees are entitled to up to one year’s maternity leave. Paternity leave is available if certain criteria are met. Parents are also entitled to 18 weeks’ unpaid leave for each child up to their 18th birthday.
10X REASONS (AND MORE) FOR GOOD EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS – A CONFERENCE
On Thursday 23 February 2023, we hosted our “10X Reasons and More for Good Employment Relations in NI” conference at Titanic Belfast.
This major stakeholder conference brought together employers, HR professionals, trade unionists and others to explore how we create a framework of best practice that will help turn the vision for a 10X economy into a reality through good employment relations.
Included on this page are some of the highlights of the event
No. 138 The Code of Practice (Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities) (Appointed Day) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012
This Order appoints 19th April 2012 as the day upon which the Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities, which is being issued by the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) under Article 90(5) of the Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992, will come into effect.
280 (13) The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Commencement No. 3 and Saving and Transitional Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996
This Order stipulates 11th July 1996 as the day in which further components of the 1995 Act come into operation of a Code of Practice relating to help for persons suffering discrimination, and on 2nd December 1996 provides for: discrimination against applicants and employees, meaning of discrimination, duty of employer to make adjustments, small business exemption, enforcement, remedies, discriminatory adverts, discrimination against contract workers, discrimination by trade organisations (as defined), alterations to premises under lease, discrimination in relation to goods, facilities and services, small dwelling exemptions, victimisation, aiding unlawful acts, liability of employers and so on.
No 318 Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012
The Order comes into operation on 10 September 2012 with Article 2 of the 1979 Order providing exceptions to article 5(2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (“the 1978 Order”) (questions which relate to spent convictions).