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Bereavement Leave
Employees are sometimes entitled to paid bereavement leave if someone close to them dies. All employees are entitled to reasonable time off without pay to arrange or attend the funeral of a dependant.
Fair Employment (School Teachers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022
This legislation was enacted by the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022 and came into effect on 12th May 2024.
From this date, it will be unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of religious or philosophical belief or political opinion in respectof the recruitment or promotion of teachers in schools in Northern Ireland.
Prior to 2003, FETO, and its predecessors, did not prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religious or philosophical belief or political opinion in relation to any aspect of the employment of school teachers. That was due to the effects of article 71 of FETO, commonly known as the teachers’ exception.
This situation changed through a process that began in 2003 when an EU equality law, Council Directive 2000/78/EC, required the exception to be modified and
narrowed. As a result, and since then, FETO has prohibited discrimination on its equality grounds in relation to most aspects of the employment of teachers in
schools; e.g. in relation to pay, training, absence and performance management,
dismissal, harassment.
Despite that change, FETO’s prohibition of discrimination did not apply to the recruitment or promotion of teachers in schools due to the continuing effects of one part of the article 71 exception that remained.
The remaining gap in coverage was filled on 12 May 2024 with the inrtoduction of this legislation.
A Practical Guide to Working from Home: Covid-19 and beyond
This document provides guidance on how to manage regular or long-term working from home, which has been a requirement for many during the Covid pandemic, and may continue for some workers for the foreseeable future.
Rests and breaks
Employees are entitled to breaks for meals and to rest. As far as possible employers should provide breaks, facilities and comfortable surroundings for additional needs such as breastfeeding or expressing milk.
Job applications
There are two main options for inviting applications to job vacancies:
• providing a job application form to be completed and returned, or;
• asking applicants to send a copy of their curriculum vitae (CV).
Ending employment
When employment contracts end through resignation, retirement, dismissal or redundancy, there are rights and responsibilities for both the employer and employee.
242 Suspension from Work on Maternity Grounds (Merchant Shipping and Fishery Vessels) Order (Northern Ireland) 1998
These Regulations require that in certain circumstances new or expectant mothers shall be suspended from work for health and safety reasons.
Statutory Sick Pay
Employers are responsible for the payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for periods of illness of four days or more up to a total of 28 weeks' absence in any one period of incapacity for work.