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Sexual Harassment Guidance - March 2024
This guide has been developed in partnership with the Northern Ireland Committee for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (NIC-ICTU). It has been endorsed by Women in Business. The guide is designed for employers, employees and their representatives and aims to help eradicate sexual harassment from the workplace.
Trade unions
The Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 defines a trade union as “an organisation (whether permanent or temporary) which … consists wholly or mainly of workers of one or more descriptions and is an organisation whose principal purposes include the regulation of relations between workers … and employers or employers’ associations.
Advice on Trade Union Representation in the Workplace
This guide is for employers, trade unions and union workplace representatives. It gives advice on the provision of time off, training and facilities to enable union representatives to carry out their duties. It covers statutory and non-statutory representatives.
Arms-Length Body (ALB) Review of the Labour Relations Agency (LRA)
In April 2023 the Department for the Economy (DfE) engaged Business Consultancy Services (BCS) to complete a review of the Labour Relations Agency (LRA). The review was conducted in line with Cabinet Office guidance, namely Tailored Reviews: Guidance on Reviews of Public Bodies (May 2019) and Guidance on the undertaking of Reviews of Public Bodies (December 2022).
Arbitration Explained
Arbitration
Arbitration involves an independent and impartial person called an arbitrator (acting alone or chairing a panel) being appointed by the Labour Relations Agency to make a decision on a dispute. This decision is based on the evidence presented by the parties to that dispute.
Advice on Non-union Representation in the Workplace
This guide is for employers and non-union workplace representatives. It gives advice on the provision of time off, training and facilities to enable non-union representatives to carry out their duties. It covers statutory and non-statutory representatives.
Resolving problems
Issues and problems can arise in any workplace. If not resolved they can cause lasting damage to individuals, to the business and to relationships. It is important to ensure there are fair processes in place to deal with problems and that organisations adopt a best practice approach. We run free training seminars and briefings and have guides, template policies and flowcharts to help. Where additional support is needed we offer free, impartial and confidential conciliation, mediation and arbitration services.
Flexible Working: The Right to Request and Duty to Consider
Under provisions set out in the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and regulations made under it, all employees have a statutory right to ask their employer for a change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment to work flexibly.