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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).
Conciliation Explained
If someone has lodged a claim to the tribunal about their employment rights a copy is sent to the Labour Relations Agency.
We have a legal duty to offer Conciliation in most cases when someone has a complaint about their employment rights even if no claim has been made to the Tribunal service.
EC Bulk Spreadsheet Portal Template
This spreadsheet should be completed and uploaded via the portal to notify multiple cases relating to both EC (employee-led) notifications and NON ET (employer-led) requests.
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.
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Advice on Managing Difficult Conversations
The ability to be able to talk about very sensitive and emotive issues is an integral part of effective line management and can be critical to managing performance, promoting attendance and improving team dynamics. These difficult conversations should not be avoided.
Managing the Performance of Your Employees
Effective performance management can bring about many benefits to your business, including improved staff performance, greater productivity and stronger employee engagement.
Gifts and Hospitality Register 1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015
Anonymised Gifts and Hospitality Register 01.04.2014 to 31.03.2015
Leaflet 10. Managing the Performance of Your Employees
February 2016
Effective performance management can bring about many benefits to your business, including improved staff performance, greater productivity and stronger employee engagement.