Search Results
The Value of Trade Unions - Podcast
In the 7th Podcast in our “Challenging Workplaces” series, we discuss the value of trade unions in the workplace.
LRA Director Mark McAllister, is joined by Nita Clarke OBE, Director of the Involvement & Participation Association (IPA), Jacquie White, General Secretary of the Ulster Teachers Union (UTU) and Clare Moore, Equality and Social Affairs Officer with the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (NIC ICTU).
Preparing for the hiring process
Taking the time to carefully plan the hiring process is important and ensures that you hire an employee with the right mix of skills and characteristics for the job.
Employee engagement
Employee engagement plays a crucial role in the success of any organisation. It goes beyond the surface level of job satisfaction and encompasses the emotional and psychological connection that an employee has with their work and their workplace. Engaged employees are not just committed to their job, but they are also invested in the values of their organisation. They are more likely to put in discretionary effort, go the extra mile, and take ownership of their work, leading to improved performance and productivity.
Sick leave
From one time to another, employing organisations will experience absence by their staff due to illness. Illness absences are usually unplanned. This makes planning and covering work difficult for employers given the short notice of illness occurrences.
Video Guide to the Employment Tribunal Process
Law Centre NI has launched a new video guide to the Employment Tribunal process, which will help people to understand what they should expect when submitting a claim to the Tribunal.
Available in English, Hungarian, Lithuanian and Polish, the Guide is split into two chapters so that people can learn about the steps that they will go through before a Hearing takes place, as well as what happens on the day of the Hearing.
You can access the video and the written guide at this link:
Guide to the Employment Tribunal | Law Centre Northern Ireland (lawcentreni.org)
For more information, contact our Workplace Information Service team at 03300 555 300 or Law Centre NI at 028 9024 4401.
Contracts of employment
A contract of employment is a legal agreement between an employer and an employee which sets out their employment rights, responsibilities and duties. The employment contract is made as soon as a job offer is accepted.
Redundancy
When employers wish to make employees redundant they must follow a clear and fair process. The Labour Relations Agency has a redundancy flowchart which can help employers and employees in this situation.
Hybrid Working - Here to stay or past its use-by date?
There has been a noticeable drift back to the workplace following the pandemic, with the proportion of NI employees working remotely for some of the time falling from 41% in April 2020 to 17%. Ironically, even Zoom has recently decided to bring its staff back to the office for at least part of the week.
With this in mind, CIPD NI and the Labour Relations Agency ran a webinar on 16 October 2023 to take stock of the HR profession’s experience of hybrid working to date. CIPD NI Branch Chair Nicola Barber hosted the event, and we were joined by an expert panel comprising:
• Ulster University Economist Ana Desmond, co-author of ‘Is remote working, working?’ – research into remote working patterns in NI, published in August 2023;
• Leading HR practitioner and thinker Gary Cookson, author of ‘HR for Hybrid Working’ published in June 2022; and,
• Caroline Samia from the Labour Relations Agency.
The event was recorded, and is now available to view below. The slide deck used during the event is also available for download.
Dismissal
Employees can be dismissed for reasons such as gross misconduct or a fundamental breach of contract. A fair and robust process should be followed where all parties have certain rights and responsibilities.
Types of contracts
In addition to contracts of employment, a number of other types of contracts exist.