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No 319 The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Prescribed Criteria and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012
These Regulations come into operation on 10/9/12 and amend the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Prescribed Criteria and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 which prescribe the criteria which determine whether a person should be included automatically in the children’s barred list or the adults’ barred list maintained by the Independent Safeguarding Authority under Article 6 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (“the 2007 Order”).
Advice on Social Media and the Employment Relationship
It's hard to think of a bigger change in the workplace over the last 10 years than the arrival of social media as a means of communication. Their rapid rise in prevalence and importance is changing the nature of work and how it balances with our private lives.
Webinar - Handling Workplace Grievances
In the ever-evolving landscape of the modern workplace, it's crucial to understand how to effectively manage and address grievances. Whether you're an employee, a manager, or an HR professional, having a solid grasp of the grievance process is essential for maintaining a healthy and productive work environment.
In this webinar, we'll explore the following key areas:
- Understanding the legislative framework underpinning workplace grievances in Northern Ireland.
- Awareness of general principles supporting an effective procedure.
- The process for handling grievances.
- Dealing with common issues that may arise.
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.
Advice on Conducting Employment Investigations
This guide is designed primarily for medium-sized organisations in Northern Ireland but the core principles apply as much to small and micro-employers as well as multi-nationals.
Review of employment law 2006-2007
Patricia Maxwell, University of Ulster
The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2024
This Order increases, from 6th April 2024, the limits applying to certain awards of Employment Tribunals, and other sums payable under employment legislation, as specified in the Schedule to this Order.
To access the applicable rates, please click on the link at the bottom of this page
Employment Document Toolkit - How to Register - Demo Video
This video provides step by step instructions on how to sign up to our new, free, online employment document toolkit.
Advice on Handling Discipline and Grievances at Work
This guide is purely advisory. It complements the Agency’s Code by giving more practical advice and guidance that employers and employees and their representatives will often find helpful both in general terms and in respect of individual cases.