Legislation

Welcome to the Labour Relations Agency’s employment legislation link pages. We have attempted to collate all relevant employment legislation (Primary and Secondary) on these pages for our users’ ease of reference. Essentially users will get a brief summary of the content of the legislation and then a link to the www.legislation.gov.uk website delivered by the National Archives via www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.

By way of summary explanation this section of the website lists by year based index all relevant employment related Acts of Parliament - An Act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an existing law. An Act is a Bill approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and formally agreed to by the reigning monarch (known as Royal Assent). Once implemented, an Act is law and applies to the UK as a whole or to specific areas of the country. An example would be the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) which is UK wide.

In Northern Ireland employment law is a devolved matter and as such we can have an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly which only relates to this jurisdiction, for example, The Work and Families (Northern Ireland) Act 2015. As with Parliament the process begins with a Bill and has a passage of legislation (see below and for more detail http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/legislation/ )

However, the vast majority of employment law (which is a matter devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly) in Northern Ireland is derived from Statutory Rules which are a form of Delegated Legislation. These Statutory Rules are made to bring subordinate legislation law. Primary legislation (Acts) provides the powers to make subordinate legislation in the form of Statutory Rules (Regulations, Rules, Order and Bye-laws).

In general terms primary legislation provides the framework and subordinate legislation contains the details. As primary legislation takes up Assembly time, changes and amendments to the content of various legal measures can be made more quickly by the subordinate legislation process.

The amount of employment related Statutory Rules passed in Northern Ireland in a year can vary significantly for example there were 6 in 2009 but there were 32 in 2015.

Users who are looking to find Primary Legislation (either an Act of Parliament or an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly) should click on the box below entitled Index of Employment Related Statutes for Northern Ireland which is divided into 5 boxes which are date based and in chronological order, for example 1871-1976, 1977-1994, 1995-1999, 2000-2007, 2008-2016.

Users who are looking to find Delegated Legislation, primarily in the form of a Statutory Rule, should go to the relevant year in the year-based boxes listed below for an employment related Statutory Rule passed between 1996 and 2016, for example a popular search for an employment related piece of delegated legislation would be The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1996/1919/contents.

If you do not know the year of the relevant legislation you can do a general search using the title/ relevant words here http://www.legislation.gov.uk/.

Employment law is a complicated field and there are now significant differences between Northern Ireland and Great Britain (click here... for GB v NI page) and it can often be difficult to determine what the legislation is, for example, An Act of the NI Assembly, an Order in Council, a Statutory Instrument, a Regulation, a Statutory Rule, an Act of Parliament, a Regulation etc. Thus, in many cases a general search can provide a quick answer and tips such as looking at the geographical extent column on the legislation page will show you if an Act of Parliament applies in Northern Ireland or not.

It should be noted that amendments are constantly being made and as such Acts can be subject to frequent amendment. Users should take note when going to the relevant pages there may be highlighting note which states: Changes to legislation – There are outstanding changes not yet made by the Legislation.gov.uk editorial team to this legislation. Those changes will be listed when you open the content using the Table of Contents method. Any changes that have already been made by the team appear in the content and will be annotated.

If you cannot find what you are looking for then you can contact the Labour Relations Agency via email at mailto:[email protected] or by phone at 03300 552 220

Please note the Labour Relations Agency cannot be held responsible for the contents of external websites and links.

Search our legislation database

1 - 10 of 279 results

  • The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (Miscarriage) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026

    These Regulations are provided under a statutory requirement imposed by the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (c.5) and are made in exercise of the powers inserted into the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c.7) (the “1992 Act”) and the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (N.I. 16) (the “1996 Order”) by the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022.

    The amendments made by these Regulations extend the application of both the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (the Pay Regulations) and the Parental Bereavement Leave (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (the Leave Regulations) to include cases where a woman experiences a miscarriage and becomes aware of it on or after 6 April 2026. The amendments also introduce new definitions to facilitate the inclusion of miscarriage within parental bereavement leave and pay, including “first day of bereavement” (covering the date of a child’s death or the date of miscarriage) and “week of the bereavement” (the week in which the death or miscarriage occurred).

    The Regulations amend both the Leave Regulations and the Pay Regulations to include a new regulation 4A respectively. The amendments ensure that the entitlement provisions of both Part 12ZD of the 1992 Act and Chapter 4 of the 1996 Order apply to eligible employees who have experienced a miscarriage within the specified conditions. For these purposes, a miscarriage is specified to include either a spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks of gestation or the loss of a pregnancy following a medical intervention that was necessary to protect the pregnant woman’s physical or mental health, or to address a fatal fetal abnormality or severe fetal impairment.

    The Regulations also extend entitlement so that the rights under parental bereavement leave and pay are available to eligible employees who, but for the miscarriage, would have been the biological or intended parent of the expected child, and to those eligible employees who are the current partner of the woman who experienced the miscarriage.

    The Regulations also make the appropriate consequential amendments to the Leave Regulations and the Pay Regulations to reflect the inclusion of miscarriage within the entitlements to parental bereavement leave and pay.

  • The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026

    These Regulations amend the Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (General) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 by omitting regulation 37 (expiry). The amendment ensures the continued operation of those Regulations and forms part of a wider package of legislative measures establishing statutory parental bereavement pay as an entitlement for bereaved parents. The entitlement applies to employed earners in cases of child death, stillbirth and miscarriage, and provides for the payment of statutory parental bereavement pay by employers.

  • The Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024. S.R. 2024 No. 197

    This Statutory Rule amends Schedule 1 to the Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations
    (Northern Ireland) 2020 and comes into effect on 12th December 2024.

  • 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.
     

  • AGRICULTURAL WAGES (AMENDMENT) ORDER 2024

    This legislation sets out the minimum rates of agricultural pay determined by the Agricultural Wages Board for Northern Ireland (AWB), effective from the first pay reference period beginning on or after 1 April 2024.

  • The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2024

    This Order increases, from 6th April 2024, the limits applying to certain awards of Employment Tribunals, and other sums payable under employment legislation, as specified in the Schedule to this Order.

    To access the applicable rates, please click on the link at the bottom of this page

  • The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2024

    This Order, which corresponds to an Order (S.I. 2024/242) made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under sections 150, 150A, 151 and 151A of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, alters the rates and amounts of certain social security benefits and other sums.

    Part 2 relates to social security benefits, pensions and allowances.

    Article 3 and Schedule 1 alter the rates of benefits and increases of benefit (except those referred to in Article 3(2)) specified in Parts I, III, IV and V of Schedule 4 to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (“the Contributions and Benefits Act”).

    Article 4 increases the rates and amounts of certain pensions and allowances under the Contributions and Benefits Act.

    Article 5 increases the sums payable as part of a Category A or Category B retirement pension under sections 11(1) and 13(2) and (3) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 on account of increases in guaranteed minimum pensions.

    Article 6 increases the rates and amounts relating to the state pension under Part 1 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 including the full rate, amounts exceeding the full rate, the rate of increments and inherited increments.

    Article 7 specifies the dates from which the sums specified for rates or amounts of benefits in Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13 are altered.

    Article 8 increases the rate of statutory sick pay.

    Article 9 increases the rate of statutory maternity pay.

    Article 10 increases the rates of statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay, statutory shared parental pay and statutory parental bereavement pay.

    Article 11 increases the rate of graduated retirement benefit.

    Article 12 increases the amount of a Category C retirement pension.

    Article 13 increases the prescribed maximum additional pension for the purposes of section 52(3) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.

    Article 14 increases the rates of disability living allowance.

    Article 15 increases the rates of personal independence payment.

    Article 16 increases the rates of age addition and the rates referred to in Article 16(2) for claimants entitled to long-term incapacity benefit in so far as they correspond to a claimant in Great Britain who was subject to regulation 2(3) of the Employment and Support Allowance (Up-rating Modification) (Transitional) Regulations 2008.

    Article 17 increases the rates of transitional invalidity allowance and the rates referred to in Article 17(2) for claimants entitled to long-term incapacity benefit in so far as they correspond to a claimant in Great Britain who was subject to regulation 2(3) of the Employment and Support Allowance (Up-rating Modification) (Transitional) Regulations 2008.

    Article 18 increases the rates of widowed mother’s allowance, widow’s pension and widowed parent’s allowance.

    Article 19 specifies the rates of bereavement support payment.

    Part 3 relates to income support and housing benefit.

    Article 20 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of income support. Article 20(3) and Schedule 2 sets out certain personal allowances and Article 20(4) and (5) and Schedule 3 set out the premiums.

    Article 21 provides for the percentage increase of sums payable by way of special transitional additions to income support.

    Article 22 states the sum by which any income support of a person involved in a trade dispute is reduced.

    Article 23 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of housing benefit. Article 23(5) and Schedule 4 sets out certain personal allowances and Article 23(7) and Schedule 5 set out the premiums.

    Article 24 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of housing benefit for persons over the qualifying age for state pension credit. Article 24(5) and Schedule 6 set out the personal allowances and Article 24(6) and (7) and Schedule 7 set out the premiums.

    Part 4 relates to jobseeker’s allowance.

    Article 25 increases the age-related amounts for contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance.

    Article 26 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of income-based jobseeker’s allowance. Article 26(3) and Schedule 8 sets out certain personal allowances; Article 26(4) and (5) and Schedule 9 set out the premiums; Article 26(6) and Schedule 10 set out the amounts of premiums relevant to joint-claim couples.

    Article 27 states the sum by which any jobseeker’s allowance of a person involved in a trade dispute is reduced.

    Article 28 increases the amounts of jobseeker’s allowance for the purposes of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.

    Part 5 relates to state pension credit.

    Article 29 specifies sums relevant to state pension credit.

    Part 6 relates to employment and support allowance.

    Article 30 sets out the sums relevant to the applicable amount for the purposes of employment and support allowance under the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008. Article 30(2) and (3) and Schedule 11 increase the contributory allowance of employment and support allowance and the prescribed amounts for income-related employment and support allowance; Article 30(3), (4) and (5) and Schedule 12 sets out the premiums and Article 30(6) increases the components.

    Article 31 increases the prescribed amounts for employment and support allowance set out in regulation 62 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.

    Part 7 relates to universal credit.

    Article 32 and Schedule 13 specify the amounts relevant to universal credit.

    Article 33 increases the amounts specified for the transitional severe disability premium element in paragraph 5 of Schedule 2, and paragraph 5 of Schedule 3, to the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.

    Article 34 revokes the Social Security (2023 Benefits Up-rating) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024.

  • The Industrial Court (Membership) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022

    These Regulations amend the Industrial Court (Membership) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 (the “Membership Regulations”).

    Regulation 2 amends regulation 3 of the Membership Regulations by removing a number of the current legislative provisions in relation to members of the Industrial Court (the “Court”) holding and vacating office and replacing those provisions with a reliance on each member’s terms of appointment.

    Regulation 3 contains a transitional provision for current members of the Court.

    The Court is a non-departmental tribunal body whose main function is to adjudicate on applications relating to the statutory recognition or derecognition of trade unions for collective bargaining purposes, where this cannot be agreed voluntarily.

  • The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Persons Abroad and Mariners) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022

    These Regulations relate to the treatment under Part 12ZD of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 of persons abroad, persons who work as mariners and persons who work on the continental shelf. The effect is that certain persons who would otherwise not fulfil the qualifying conditions for entitlement to statutory parental bereavement pay because of the nature of their employment or the fact that they are outside the United Kingdom will have an entitlement to such pay.

    Regulation 4 limits the application of the Regulations to cases where the person would be treated as an employee under Part 12ZD of the Act if the employment were in Northern Ireland.

    Regulation 5 provides for a person who is absent from Northern Ireland but in respect of whom an employer has secondary Class 1 national insurance contribution liability to be treated as an employee for the purposes of the Part 12ZD.

    Regulation 6 relaxes any time limit imposed by Part 12ZD of the Act or regulations made under it in relation to a person who cannot comply with the time limit because that person is outside the United Kingdom.

    Regulation 7 treats certain classes of mariners as employees for the purposes of Part 12ZD and regulation 8 makes corresponding provision for persons working on the continental shelf

  • The Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (Administration) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022

    These Regulations provide for the funding of employers’ liabilities to make payments of statutory parental bereavement pay; they also impose obligations on employers in connection with such payments and confer powers on the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“the Commissioners”).

    Under regulation 3, an employer is entitled to an amount equal to 92 per cent. of payments made by the employer of statutory parental bereavement pay, or the whole of such payments if the employer is a small employer. Regulations 4 to 7 provide for employers to be reimbursed through deductions from income tax, national insurance and other payments that they would otherwise make to the Commissioners, and for the Commissioners to fund payments to the extent that employers cannot be fully reimbursed in this way. Regulation 8 enables the Commissioners to recover overpayments to employers.

    Regulation 9 requires employers to maintain records relevant to the payment of statutory parental bereavement pay to employees or former employees, and regulation 10 empowers officers of Revenue and Customs to inspect, copy or remove employers’ payment records.

    Regulation 11 requires an employer who decides not to make any, or any further, payments of statutory parental bereavement pay to an employee or a former employee to give that person the details of the decision and the reasons for it. Regulations 12 and 13 provide for officers of Revenue and Customs to determine issues relating to a person’s entitlement to statutory parental bereavement pay. Regulation 14 provides for employers, employment agencies, persons claiming statutory parental bereavement pay and others to furnish information or documents to an officer of Revenue and Customs on request.

Find services and information