Subscribers will have read in our weekly review a couple of weeks ago that we will have a full consultation in NI over the summer about several employment areas. This consultation has been issued today.
The issues raised include an extension to the unfair dismissal qualification period and a reduction in collective redundancy consultation periods.

Below we have outlined information relating to the consultation and would like to thank Alan Scott at the Department for Employment and Learning for keeping us updated.

Summary of NI Employment Law Review Consultation

Consultation issue date: 16 July.
It will run for a period of 16 weeks.
Responses must be with the Department by 5pm on 5 November.

This is the most far-reaching review of employment law that has been undertaken by the Northern Ireland Executive. The aim is to strike a balance between building employer confidence through better regulation and maintaining employee entitlements.

The consultation will seek views on the following issues:

• Routing of potential tribunal claims to the Labour Relation Agency in the first instance, to encourage resolution without a legal process ('early conciliation');
•  LRA 'neutral assessment' service that would provide parties with a more informed understanding of the potential outcome of their dispute, if not resolved between them;
• Consideration of the merits of extending the current qualification period for unfair dismissal;
• Consideration of the merits of amending collective redundancy consultation periods;
• A review of the existing policy for compromise agreements, including the potential for introducing a process that might allow for an employer to have a ‘protected conversation’ with an employee about sensitive issues such as performance that would not be admissible in an unfair dismissal tribunal hearing;
• A review of the legislation governing Public Interest Disclosure.
• Being taken forward separately are:
• A review of the Rules of Procedure governing industrial tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal;
• Examination of the Working Time and Conduct of Employment Agency Regulations under better regulation principles, with a view to reducing unnecessary bureaucracy.(The outcomes of this project will also inform a wider review of all subordinate legislation that the Department will take forward in partnership with business and employee representative bodies.)

Alongside the consultation, the Department will be publishing a report examining the attitudes of SMEs towards discharging their employment law obligations. The report puts forward a number of recommendations which have been factored into the development of the consultation.