In Brief: Important Updates from February 2018

Employment Law is a complex area that is continually changing. It can be difficult to keep up to date with the latest developments, but don’t fret, the Northern Ireland Employment Law Hub is the best way to stay informed. The Hub offers in-depth articles written by expert employment lawyers and leading HR professionals, case law analysis and materials tailored specifically to how the law applies in Northern Ireland. It is fully searchable, available 24/7 and has a useful browse by topic function.

In case you missed it… here’s a quick recap of some of the topics that featured in February 2018, including, the top ten takeaways from the government response to Matthew Taylor’s ‘Good Work’ Report on Modern Working Practices; pragmatic advice from Gareth Walls, Partner and Head of the Employment and Incentives Team at A&L Goodbody in Northern Ireland, on how best to comply with the GDPR; advice on how to navigate the recruitment process, avoiding the potential for allegations of discrimination and allowing the best candidate to succeed; commercial advice for employers concerning personal data; collective redundancy and TUPE; and this month’s Employment Law at 11 covering maternity and equality; whistleblowing; annual leave; sickness and apprenticeships.

Taylor Review Response Top 10 Takeaways

The government recently responded to the Taylor Report with a sizeable report of its own and announced four separate GB consultations. So, what are we likely to see in the coming months and years, given that the Government has effectively embraced the vast majority of the Taylor Report recommendations? And how might these inform debate in Northern Ireland, assuming a Stormont Assembly returns and lasts long enough to enact some employment law changes? We asked Mark McAllister of the Labour Relations Agency to set out key learning points from the Government's response:
https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/features/supplementary/2018/feb/taylor-review-response-top-10-takeaways/

Employment Documentation and the GDPR

Gareth Walls, Partner and Head of the Employment and Incentives Team at A&L Goodbody in Northern Ireland, considers central aspects of the GDPR that all HR practitioners need to understand as we move closer to the deadline on the 25th May 2018. Gareth offers pragmatic advice on how best to comply with the regulation, discussing various aspects of the legislation, namely the significance of conducting a data audit, the appointment of a Data Protection Officer, the hefty fines dominating headlines and how to respond to a subject access request.

Gareth stresses the importance of having a good understanding of your obligations under the legislation, the need to update contracts of employment, policies and procedures and the requirement to train all staff, particularly middle and senior-level management from the outset:
https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/features/basics/2018/feb/employment-documentation-and-the-gdpr/

Interviewing a Potential Employee – How Do I Handle It?

I am responsible for our recruitment and selection processes, and am concerned about the diversity of our workforce. I don’t want our company to miss out on the best talent because of unfair assumptions made by an interviewer. How do I handle it? Jack Balmer, Associate Solicitor in Tughans, offers advice on how to navigate the recruitment process. Jack provides a number of practical steps employers can adopt at interview to reduce the potential for stereotyping or overly subjective decision making, avoid the potential for allegations of discrimination and allow the best candidate to succeed:
https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/features/how-do-i-handle-it/2018/feb/interviewing-a-potential-employee--how-do-i-handle-it/

Commercial Law for Employers: Personal Data; Collective Redundancy and TUPE

Kevin McVeigh, Partner and Head of the Corporate and Commercial Department in EDG Solicitors, reviews three very interesting cases. Peter Nowak v Data Protection Commissioner considers the concept of “personal data” and the boundaries of the collection, storage and use of personal information; Małgorzata Ciupa and Others v II Szpital Miejski concerns collective redundancies and the obligation to consult with the employees in question; and Securitas v ICTS Portugal is a TUPE decision that helpfully clarifies the extent to which the Acquired Rights Directive applies when equipment necessary for the provision of services is taken over by the transferee:
https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/features/commercial-law/2018/feb/commercial-law-personal-data-collective-redundancy-and-tupe/

Employment Law at 11

Legal-Island and O’Reilly Stewart solicitors will be running monthly live webinars on the first Friday of every month at 11am. If you missed our last one covering a range of topics including maternity & equality; whistleblowing; annual leave & sickness and apprenticeships you can access it here:
https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/resources/webinar-recordings/2018/feb/maternity-equality-whistleblowing-annual-leave-sickness-apprenticeships/