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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.
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 159 The Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (Commencement No. 1, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011 - S.R. 2011 No. 159 (C. 8).
This Order brings into operation the provisions of the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (2011 c. 13 (N.I.)) (“the Act”) set out in Article 2. Those provisions come into operation on 3rd April 2011.
No. 470 The Disability Discrimination (Questions and Replies) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007
This Order prescribes, as of 31/12/07, the forms for questions and replies under Part 3 of the Act, cases other than employment and education, other than employment services and aspects of group insurance.
No 242 The Posted Workers (Enforcement of Employment Rights) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016
These Regulations come into force on 18 June 2016 and extend to Northern Ireland only.
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.
No 157 The Cross-Border mediation Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011
Although these Regulations do not specifically relate to employment there are aspects of them that could apply in an employment dispute which is cross border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
419 The Disability Discrimination (Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996
These Regulations provide for circumstances whereupon treatment of a disabled employee or failure to make a reasonable adjustment is justified: where pay is linked to performance, where there are uniform rates of contribution to an occupational pension scheme regardless of benefits received, where building works complied with (and continue to comply with) the building regulations in relations to disabled access and facilities.
8 Equal Opportunities (Employment Legislation) (Territorial Limits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000
These Regulations relate to the “posting” of workers in terms of equality of treatment between men and women and other provisions on non-discrimination are extended to said postal workers. (Workers who, for a limited period, carry out work in another Member State).
385 Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) (1990 Order) (Commencement No.2) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997
This Order brings into operation, as of 24/8/97, all of the remaining provisions of the 1990 Order and addresses matters of a technical nature regarding repeals etc (eg) Section 117A of the Factories Act (Northern Ireland) 1965.