Employment Law Developments in Northern Ireland
Following the review contained in issue 45 of The Bottom Line, this article summarises recent and forthcoming developments in Northern Ireland that have not been dealt with elsewhere in this issue.
Legislation already enacted or implemented in Great Britain and expected in Northern Ireland in the near future:
The Disability Discrimination (Blind and Partially Sighted Persons) Regulations are now unlikely to be implemented before 2007.
Widening of the definition of disability for the purposes of discrimination legislation. Equivalent provisions to those that came into force on 5th December 2005 in Great Britain were made in respect of Northern Ireland on 14th February 2006 (the Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 2006) but will come into force on such days as the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister may by order appoint. Minor amendments to the 1995 Act and regulation making powers were brought into force on 3rd July 2006. At the time of writing no dates have been published for the substantive changes. Consultation is due to take place in Autumn 2006, with implementation unlikely before 2007.
Implementation of Part 5 of The Police Act 1997 in respect of Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Office proposal to implement Part 5 of the Police Act will create a statutory framework for the disclosure of criminal and police records on payment of a fee on a similar basis to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) system that has been operational in Great Britain for a number of years. The new system has been delayed somewhat and is now expected to be operational in respect of requests for ‘basic’, ‘standard’ and ‘enhanced’ disclosures in Northern Ireland from Summer 2007.
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