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Service Standards
The Agency's service standards are set out in our Customer Charter. Any complaint about the delivery of an Agency service can be brought to a Director of the Agency.
We will fully investigate the complaint and respond within ten working days. If the person complaining is not satisfied with the response he/she can raise it with the Chief Executive who will reply within ten working days.
If the individual is still not satisfied he/she can refer the matter to the Ombudsman. A copy of the Agency’s Customer Complaints Procedure, which includes guidance on raising a complaint is available from the Agency or can be downloaded here.
Discrimination when hiring
Fair treatment is not just a moral and legal obligation but makes good business sense. Employers who treat employees fairly will be best placed to recruit and retain staff in an increasingly diverse and competitive labour market.
No 162 The Fair Employment Tribunal (Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011
These Regulations amend the Fair Employment Tribunal (Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (S.R. 2005 No. 151) (“the 2005 Regulations”), the most substantive amendments to which have previously been made by S.R. 2005 No. 579.
No. 520 The Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Amendment to Subordinate Legislation) Order (Northern Ireland) 2005
Although the main impact on Northern Ireland employment legislation in the area of civil partnership comes from the Civil Partnership Act (2004) (for example, Section 252 and Schedule 29) itself, the above Order addresses other changes in the employment sphere.
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.
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.
Review of Developments In Employment Law 2008-09
Patricia Maxwell
Senior Lecturer In Law
University Of Ulster
6th March 2009
No. 298 The Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (Adoption from Overseas) (Northern Ireland) 2010
The Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (Adoptions from Overseas) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (Application of Article 112BB to Adoptions from Overseas) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 and the Additional Paternity Leave (Adoptions from Overseas) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 apply the entitlement to Additional Paternity Leave and Pay (with necessary modifications) to eligible parents who are adopting a child from overseas.