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Probationary periods
Employers may sometimes state that a contract of employment is permanent subject to the completion of a satisfactory probationary period.
Collective Conciliation Explained
Collective Conciliation is facilitated or assisted negotiation where an Agency conciliator helps employers and employees (normally via trade unions) to try to reach mutually acceptable settlements of their collective disputes.
Flexible working puts smiles on faces across the factory floor
- NI businesses urged to follow lead by taking part in four-day working week pilot
With flexible working increasingly viewed as a recruitment and retention game-changer, the Labour Relations Agency and social enterprise, Timely Careers are urging Northern Ireland businesses to consider joining their GB counterparts for the second four-day working week pilot.
Advice on Agreeing and Changing Contracts of Employment
This Guide is intended to give general advice and guidance about the main legal considerations which may arise when employers or employees wish to make changes to the contract of employment
Mediation Explained
Mediation works by using a neutral Labour Relations Agency mediator to assist parties involved in a workplace conflict or dispute to reach a satisfactory solution to workplace disputes that both sides are able to agree to.
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.
Pension scheme trustees and directors of trustee companies
Employees who are trustees of an occupational pension scheme (as defined in Section 1 of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993) or directors of trustee companies are entitled to reasonable time off with pay to carry out any of their trustee’s duties, or to receive training relevant to those duties.
Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022
An Act to make provision about leave and pay for employees whose children have died or who have experienced a miscarriage.
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.
Rests and breaks
Employees are entitled to breaks for meals and to rest. As far as possible employers should provide breaks, facilities and comfortable surroundings for additional needs such as breastfeeding or expressing milk.