For a long time NI employment legislation was closely aligned with GB and many changes implemented in GB were introduced after a short delay with nearly identical regulations in NI. However, the introduction of the Equality Act in 2010 was the start of a lag in the changes taking place in NI and significant differences started to emerge.
The lack of a fully functioning assembly meant that the two jurisdictions continued to diverge. The most recent impact has been the election of a labour government and a large menu of various changes. However, on 1 July this year, the NI Department for the Economy opened the ‘Good Jobs’ Employment Rights Bill consultation to introduce some of the changes that have already been proposed by the labour government.
The current situation
GB and NI currently differ on rights for written particulars of employment, pay statements, unfair dismissal qualifying periods, dispute resolution procedures and sanctions for failure, gender pay gap reporting, sexual harassment, protection from redundancy after family leave, carer’s leave, paternity leave, neo natal leave, holiday pay, flexible working and zero hours contracts.
Some of the differences are significant. Employees in NI have the right to bring unfair dismissals after one year of service and the failure to follow statutory dismissal proceedings will result in automatically unfair dismissal. The holiday pay calculation reference period remains at twelve weeks in NI and the collective consultation period for redundancy is ninety days, compared to forty five in GB, when proposing to dismiss one hundred or more employees.
Reform
The NI ‘Good Jobs’ proposals will cover off some but not all of the GB reforms, if implemented. The proposed reforms are concentrated on four main themes – terms of employment (including zero hours and the right for workers to receive a written statement of particulars), pay and benefits (including tips and the right for workers to receive a pay statement), voice and representation (to include collective bargaining and information and consultation rights) and work life balance (to cover the newly extended rights to family leave already in place in GB).
Although there is significant reform being proposed, not all the plans will receive approval and some key differences as outlined above, will remain. It will take some time for the landscape to settle and employers on both sides of the Irish sea will have a busy autumn analysing and implementing these significant changes.
We will update the position when the new bill reaches the next stage. In the meantime, if you have any queries, do get in touch with the Employment team at Mills Selig
Editorial prepared by Kiera Lee, Partner & Head of Employment, Employment @ MIlls Selig
Kiera Lee, Partner & Head of Employment
Kiera brings over 20 years of expertise in employment law, specialising in both contentious and non-contentious matters for employers. She has represented a broad spectrum of clients, including some of Northern Ireland’s leading companies and large-scale employers.
T: 028 9044 5406
E: Kiera.Lee@MillsSelig.com
W: millsselig.com/team/kiera-lee/
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