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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.

No. 470 The Disability Discrimination (Questions and Replies) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007

This Order prescribes, as of 31/12/07, the forms for questions and replies under Part 3 of the Act, cases other than employment and education, other than employment services and aspects of group insurance. 

No 100 The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (Application of Articles 107A, 107B, 107G, 107I, 112A and 112B to Parental Order Cases) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

These Regulations come into operation on 15/3/15 and they apply to and modify existing powers in the 1996 Employment Rights (NI) Order to allow the making of regulations to give an employee who meets the eligibility criteria entitlement to statutory adoption leave, paternity leave and shared parental leave if that employee has a child born with the help of a surrogate and the employee is a parental order parent.

The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2024

This Order, which corresponds to an Order (S.I. 2024/242) made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under sections 150, 150A, 151 and 151A of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, alters the rates and amounts of certain social security benefits and other sums.

Part 2 relates to social security benefits, pensions and allowances.

Article 3 and Schedule 1 alter the rates of benefits and increases of benefit (except those referred to in Article 3(2)) specified in Parts I, III, IV and V of Schedule 4 to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (“the Contributions and Benefits Act”).

Article 4 increases the rates and amounts of certain pensions and allowances under the Contributions and Benefits Act.

Article 5 increases the sums payable as part of a Category A or Category B retirement pension under sections 11(1) and 13(2) and (3) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 on account of increases in guaranteed minimum pensions.

Article 6 increases the rates and amounts relating to the state pension under Part 1 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 including the full rate, amounts exceeding the full rate, the rate of increments and inherited increments.

Article 7 specifies the dates from which the sums specified for rates or amounts of benefits in Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13 are altered.

Article 8 increases the rate of statutory sick pay.

Article 9 increases the rate of statutory maternity pay.

Article 10 increases the rates of statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay, statutory shared parental pay and statutory parental bereavement pay.

Article 11 increases the rate of graduated retirement benefit.

Article 12 increases the amount of a Category C retirement pension.

Article 13 increases the prescribed maximum additional pension for the purposes of section 52(3) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.

Article 14 increases the rates of disability living allowance.

Article 15 increases the rates of personal independence payment.

Article 16 increases the rates of age addition and the rates referred to in Article 16(2) for claimants entitled to long-term incapacity benefit in so far as they correspond to a claimant in Great Britain who was subject to regulation 2(3) of the Employment and Support Allowance (Up-rating Modification) (Transitional) Regulations 2008.

Article 17 increases the rates of transitional invalidity allowance and the rates referred to in Article 17(2) for claimants entitled to long-term incapacity benefit in so far as they correspond to a claimant in Great Britain who was subject to regulation 2(3) of the Employment and Support Allowance (Up-rating Modification) (Transitional) Regulations 2008.

Article 18 increases the rates of widowed mother’s allowance, widow’s pension and widowed parent’s allowance.

Article 19 specifies the rates of bereavement support payment.

Part 3 relates to income support and housing benefit.

Article 20 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of income support. Article 20(3) and Schedule 2 sets out certain personal allowances and Article 20(4) and (5) and Schedule 3 set out the premiums.

Article 21 provides for the percentage increase of sums payable by way of special transitional additions to income support.

Article 22 states the sum by which any income support of a person involved in a trade dispute is reduced.

Article 23 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of housing benefit. Article 23(5) and Schedule 4 sets out certain personal allowances and Article 23(7) and Schedule 5 set out the premiums.

Article 24 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of housing benefit for persons over the qualifying age for state pension credit. Article 24(5) and Schedule 6 set out the personal allowances and Article 24(6) and (7) and Schedule 7 set out the premiums.

Part 4 relates to jobseeker’s allowance.

Article 25 increases the age-related amounts for contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance.

Article 26 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of income-based jobseeker’s allowance. Article 26(3) and Schedule 8 sets out certain personal allowances; Article 26(4) and (5) and Schedule 9 set out the premiums; Article 26(6) and Schedule 10 set out the amounts of premiums relevant to joint-claim couples.

Article 27 states the sum by which any jobseeker’s allowance of a person involved in a trade dispute is reduced.

Article 28 increases the amounts of jobseeker’s allowance for the purposes of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.

Part 5 relates to state pension credit.

Article 29 specifies sums relevant to state pension credit.

Part 6 relates to employment and support allowance.

Article 30 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of employment and support allowance under the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008. Article 30(2) and (3) and Schedule 11 increase the contributory allowance of employment and support allowance and the prescribed amounts for income-related employment and support allowance; Article 30(3), (4) and (5) and Schedule 12 sets out the premiums and Article 30(6) increases the components.

Article 31 increases the prescribed amounts for employment and support allowance set out in regulation 62 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.

Part 7 relates to universal credit.

Article 32 and Schedule 13 specify the amounts relevant to universal credit.

Article 33 increases the amounts specified for the transitional severe disability premium element in paragraph 5 of Schedule 2, and paragraph 5 of Schedule 3, to the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.

Article 34 revokes the Social Security (2023 Benefits Up-rating) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024.

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.