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Fair Employment (School Teachers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022
This legislation was enacted by the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022 and came into effect on 12th May 2024.
From this date, it will be unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of religious or philosophical belief or political opinion in respectof the recruitment or promotion of teachers in schools in Northern Ireland.
Prior to 2003, FETO, and its predecessors, did not prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religious or philosophical belief or political opinion in relation to any aspect of the employment of school teachers. That was due to the effects of article 71 of FETO, commonly known as the teachers’ exception.
This situation changed through a process that began in 2003 when an EU equality law, Council Directive 2000/78/EC, required the exception to be modified and
narrowed. As a result, and since then, FETO has prohibited discrimination on its equality grounds in relation to most aspects of the employment of teachers in
schools; e.g. in relation to pay, training, absence and performance management,
dismissal, harassment.
Despite that change, FETO’s prohibition of discrimination did not apply to the recruitment or promotion of teachers in schools due to the continuing effects of one part of the article 71 exception that remained.
The remaining gap in coverage was filled on 12 May 2024 with the inrtoduction of this legislation.
A Practical Guide to Working from Home: Covid-19 and beyond
This document provides guidance on how to manage regular or long-term working from home, which has been a requirement for many during the Covid pandemic, and may continue for some workers for the foreseeable future.
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.
465 Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996
These Regulations provide for an Industrial Tribunal to have greater procedural discretion in equal value pay claims in relation to the use (or not) of independent experts.
192 (C.9) Employment Rights (Time off for Study and Training) (1998 Order)(Commencement) Order (Northern Ireland) 2000
This Order brings into operation on 1/9/00 the provisions of the Employment Rights (Time off for study or training) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.
Bank holiday confirmed for Queen Elizabeth's funeral - guidance for employers and employees
Following the death of the Queen, a period of national mourning was announced and it will continue until the end of the day of the state funeral, Monday 19 September 2022.
There is no obligation on organisations to suspend business during the mourning period. Guidance on this can be found on the GOV.UK website here.
However, a special bank holiday has been confirmed on the day of the state funeral, Monday, 19 September 2022.
The guidance below explains how leave for special bank holidays should be handled by employers.
Temporary lay-off and short-time working
From time to time employers may experience a temporary shortage of work and it may be necessary to lay-off all or some of their employees in order to preserve long term employment security. If temporary lay-off is being considered there are important aspects of employment and contract law to take into account.
Industrial tribunals
To make a claim to an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal, in most circumstances employees will need to have worked continuously for the organisation for one year. There are other types of claim, for example regarding unpaid wages, holiday entitlements or discrimination, which do not require one year's continuous service.
Constructive dismissal
An employee may make a claim of constructive dismissal if they feel they had no choice but to resign, for example if they feel that there has been a fundamental breach or change to their contract.
The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Administration) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022
These Regulations provide for the funding of employers’ liabilities to make payments of statutory parental bereavement pay; they also impose obligations on employers in connection with such payments and confer powers on the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“the Commissioners”).
Under regulation 3, an employer is entitled to an amount equal to 92 per cent. of payments made by the employer of statutory parental bereavement pay, or the whole of such payments if the employer is a small employer. Regulations 4 to 7 provide for employers to be reimbursed through deductions from income tax, national insurance and other payments that they would otherwise make to the Commissioners, and for the Commissioners to fund payments to the extent that employers cannot be fully reimbursed in this way. Regulation 8 enables the Commissioners to recover overpayments to employers.
Regulation 9 requires employers to maintain records relevant to the payment of statutory parental bereavement pay to employees or former employees, and regulation 10 empowers officers of Revenue and Customs to inspect, copy or remove employers’ payment records.
Regulation 11 requires an employer who decides not to make any, or any further, payments of statutory parental bereavement pay to an employee or a former employee to give that person the details of the decision and the reasons for it. Regulations 12 and 13 provide for officers of Revenue and Customs to determine issues relating to a person’s entitlement to statutory parental bereavement pay. Regulation 14 provides for employers, employment agencies, persons claiming statutory parental bereavement pay and others to furnish information or documents to an officer of Revenue and Customs on request.