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Employment Issues

Religious belief is not limited to Catholic or Protestant, faiths such as Islam and Buddhism are also included

Anti-discrimination laws in employment

The Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (FETO) makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of religious belief and/or political opinion in employment and vocational training.
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Inside Employment Issues

Employees who work at any type of data display screen should be aware of the guidelines but the responsibility for safe working practices lies with the employer

Working safely in a digital environment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Display screen equipment (DSE) means any alphanumeric or graphic display screen, regardless of the display process involved.
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Minimum wage marks 10 years

Tuesday, 16 June 2009

This year the National Minimum Wage (NMW) celebrated its 10th birthday.
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An employer can take steps to alleviate the heat such as opening windows, or providing fans

The heat is on as we kick start the summer

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

I hope that by writing this article I don’t jinx the current spell of hot weather.
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Since 2003 it has been unlawful to discriminate against people in the workplace on grounds of sexual orientation

Sexual orientation discrimination

Tuesday, 2 June 2009

The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 came into force in Northern Ireland in December 2003 and made it unlawful for an employer to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation in employment.
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EU nationals and their rights to work

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Under immigration law European nationals are nationals of countries which are in the European Economic Area (EEA) and EEA nationals who have the right of admission to and establishment in the UK are known as qualified persons.
Comment: 1

Using a mobile phone while at the wheel is banned - unless it is an emergency call to the police

Why talking and driving just don’t mix

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

It is now more than five years since legislation was introduced in Northern Ireland banning the use of hand-held phones while driving.
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Although David Brent is a bit of a heavyweight in The Office, bullying at work is no laughing matter

How to combat bullying at work

Tuesday, 12 May 2009

Bullying may be characterised as “offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.”
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Certain employees with children aged under five can qualify for unpaid parental leave of 13 weeks

Parents’ right to spend time with children

Tuesday, 5 May 2009

Parental leave is a family-friendly right available to certain employees so that they can take time off work to look after their children however many people are simply not aware that they may have the right to take parental leave.
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Sexual harassment in the workplace - an issue addressed under anti-discrimination laws.

Discrimination at work

Tuesday, 28 April 2009

Equality laws exist to protect people in work from discrimination in a number of areas. The laws generally protect people from direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
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D-day for disciplinary and dismissal codes

Tuesday, 21 April 2009

From April 6 last, the statutory grievance, disciplinary and dismissal procedure has been replaced in England, Wales and Scotland by non-statutory procedures which are discretionary, rather than mandatory.
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Employees who are parents or carers of adults have a right to request flexible working from their employers

When will flexible working changes be introduced here?

Tuesday, 7 April 2009

As from yesterday, the start of the new tax year, the right to request flexible working was extended to parents of children aged 16 or under in England, Wales and Scotland.
Comment: 1

Workers' statutory holiday entitlement increases from tomorrow to 5.6 weeks' paid leave

Take more time off, it’s the law

Tuesday, 31 March 2009

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 most workers had a statutory right to four weeks’ paid holiday.
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As of April 6, harsher penalties will be imposed on employers who fail to pay National Minimum Wage

All employers must pay minimum wage

Monday, 23 March 2009

The Employment Act 2008, which comes into force on April 6, will introduce harsher penalties for employers who fail to pay their staff the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and this will require employers to review their wage systems.
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All work-related accidents, whether big or small, have to be reported to the authorities

Addressing injuries in the workplace

Monday, 16 March 2009

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (RIDDOR) covers the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences.
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If you have to take a dependant to Belfast City Hospital - or any other hospital - you may have to take unpaid leave

Taking time off for dependants

Monday, 9 March 2009

Having recently availed of the right to time off for dependants (my four-year-old daughter having fallen and cut her chin which resulted in a trip to A&E!) I thought I might cover the issue of this right to time off work in this week’s column.
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Gary Cole (left), the boss from Hell, and Ron Livingstone, the office drone, in a scene from the 1999 movie Office Space - a good example of how not to negotiate in the workplace

An active role in business decisions

Monday, 2 March 2009

The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 give rights to employees and workforce representatives in larger organisations.
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A worker who is on sick leave for the whole leave year, and has not been able to take the holiday they have accrued, will not lose his or her accrued statutory holiday allocation

Unpacking holiday leave for sick staff

Monday, 23 February 2009

The issue of whether a worker who is off sick is entitled to paid annual leave has been clarified somewhat by a decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in January 2009.
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Legislation spells out the rights of employees facing dismissal

Law takes notice of workers’ rights

Monday, 16 February 2009

Most employees have a statutory right to a period of notice if dismissed. Many employees will have additional rights to notice under their contract of employment.
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Know your fixed contract rights

Monday, 9 February 2009

Under the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002, most fixed-term employees will be entitled to the same contractual rights (pro-rata) as permanent comparable employees of the same employer.
Comment: 1

Gender skills gap is ‘costing billions in lost productivity'

Friday, 6 February 2009

A gender skills gap in British industry is costing billions of pounds in lost productivity, a report warned this week.
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More employment issues:

In Pictures: IN&M Digital Day at W5 in the Odyssey

  • Independent News and Media (NI) Digital Day at W5 in the Odyssey, Belfast
  • Independent News and Media (NI) Digital Day at W5 in the Odyssey, Belfast
  • Independent News and Media (NI) Digital Day at W5 in the Odyssey, Belfast

Belfast Telegraph business galleries

In pictures: Doing the business

  • Robert Leatham from Russell's Shop 4 You, Crumlin and Maeve Fox from Action Cancer.
  • US Consul General Susan Elliott (centre) joins Dr Diane Hazlett from University of Ulster and Peter McKittrick from the US Consulate, to officially launch the 2nd Distinguished International Visitors Address. The University has confirmed award-winning former CBS broadcast executive and US Congressional press secretary Professor Michael Freedman, executive director of the Global Media Institute at George Washington University, as guest speaker at the June 26 event, to be held at the university's Belfast campus.
  • Ian Doherty (17, from Londonderry) and Melanie McNally  (18, from Ballymena) with Minister for Employment and Learning, Sir Reg Empey MLA. The Give and Take scheme, which is run by Include Youth, provides training and support for 16 to 21 year-olds who have difficulty accessing mainstream training

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