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The Industrial Tribunals (1996 Order) (Application of Conciliation Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2020
This Order amends Article 20(1) of the Industrial Tribunals (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. Article 20(1) lists the proceedings which are “relevant proceedings” for the purposes of Early Conciliation and other conciliation services provided by the Labour Relations Agency. The amendments made by this Order update the list of jurisdictions in Article 20(1).
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.
The Coronavirus Act 2020
The Coronavirus Act 2020 creates a new, temporary, statutory right for eligible workers to take Emergency Volunteering Leave to assist the Health and Social Care system in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Sections 8 and 9 refer to Emergency Volunteers
No 229 The Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) (Amendment No. 3) 2011
These Rules amend the Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) to provide for the award of penalties by the High Court under the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999 (S.I 1999/3323), in consequence of amendments made by the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees (Amendment) Regulations 2010 which came into effect on 5/6/11.
No.100 The Fair Employment Tribunal (Remedies) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007
This order amends the 1995 Order of the same name by clarifying that awards calculated by the Tribunal on which interest is calculated does not include an award in respect of costs, allowances of preparation time. The Order also stipulates the Tribunals’ power to deal with complaints of harassment in this context.
Types of employment status
There are different types of employment status, including agency workers, apprentices, piece workers, posted workers and young workers. Further information on each is provided below.
475 Employment Rights (1996 Order) (Residuary Commencement No. 1) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996
This Order provides for various Articles with the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 relating to employment rights of trustees of occupational pension schemes and associated amendments.
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.
547 Employment Rights (Health Service Employers) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996
This Order relates to the issue of continuity of employment in the context of undergoing professional training and being employed successively by a number of different health service employers.
No.497 Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003
These Regulations implement European Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment so far as it relates to discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.