Starting out

There are differences between ‘employees’, ‘workers’ and ‘contractors’.  These differences in status can affect rights and responsibilities in the workplace.

A positive recruitment experience gets the working relationship off to the best start.  It is important to follow a number of steps and adopt a best practice approach.

Employers must provide a contract of employment which sets out the terms and conditions of employment.

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. 

Both employers and employees have certain rights and responsibilities towards each other.  Some will apply to everyone in the workplace, while others will be dependent on the individual’s working status.