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Bullying and harassment
Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect at work. Bullying or harassment of any kind should not be tolerated.
Arbitration Explained
Arbitration
Arbitration involves an independent and impartial person called an arbitrator (acting alone or chairing a panel) being appointed by the Labour Relations Agency to make a decision on a dispute. This decision is based on the evidence presented by the parties to that dispute.
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.
Employer-led Early Conciliation
Early Conciliation is available to employers who are dealing with a workplace dispute which could result in a claim being made to the Industrial or Fair Employment Tribunal. The employer's representative can also contact us to request Early Conciliation on the employer's behalf.
Apprenticeship
An apprentice is someone who is engaged through an employment contract to undertake a course of training and learning in order to practice a skilled trade or profession.
Right to work in Northern Ireland
It is important that an employer checks that a job applicant is allowed to work in the UK before they can employ them. An employer could face a civil penalty if they employ an illegal worker and have not carried out a correct right to work check.
Employers must check the applicant's identity and nationality and make sure that they have the relevant immigration permission or visa in place.
Mediation
An independent mediator can sometimes help resolve grievance or disciplinary issues. There is no charge for using the Labour Relations Agency's mediation service.
Leaflet 1. Know the Law
February 2016
Employees have a range of legal rights derived from national or European legislation and these are summarised in this leaflet
Effective Joint Committees
This Guide provides information on Joint Committees which promote positive working relationships between employees or their representatives with employers, and encourage good engagement and sound communications.
The rights and responsibilities involved when it comes to Redundancy (HTML)
For redundancy to be fair there must be a genuine need for redundancy and the employer must follow a fair process in carrying it out. Where there are many employees involved, trade unions and employees should be consulted properly.
Before beginning any redundancy (and during the consultation process), an employer should think about whether it can avoid making redundancies or reduce the number of redundancies. Employers also need to carefully think about how the employees will be chosen for redundancy. If they don’t, they may face claims of unfair dismissal.
The way that staff are chosen should be fair and follow an agreed selection process if the organisation has one. If there isn’t an agreed process in place, the employer must make sure there is no discrimination, that staff are chosen fairly, and in a way that can be checked.