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The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 No. 3424 (N.I. 20)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_orders/2005/20053424.html
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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
2005 No. 3424 (N.I. 20)
NORTHERN IRELAND
The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern
Ireland) Order 2005
|
Made |
14th December 2005 |
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|
Coming into operation in accordance with
Article 1(2) |
ARRANGEMENT OF ORDER
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 14th day of December
2005
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in CouncilWhereas a
draft of this Order in Council has been approved by resolution of each House of
Parliament:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in
exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 1(1) of the Schedule to the
Northern Ireland Act 2000 (c.1) and of all other powers enabling Her in that
behalf, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and
it is hereby ordered, as follows:-
Title, commencement and
interpretation 1. —(1) This
Order may be cited as the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern
Ireland) Order 2005.
(2) This Order comes into
operation on the expiration of one month from the date on which it is
made.
(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern
Ireland) 1954 (c.33) applies to this Order as it applies to an Act of the
Assembly.
Enforcement of regulation of employment agencies and
employment businesses 2. —(1)
Part II of the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order
1981 (NI 20) (regulation of employment agencies and employment businesses) is
amended as follows.
(2) After Article 7
insert—
" Appointment of officers
7A. —(1) The Department—
(a) may appoint officers to act for the purposes of this Order;
and
(b) may, instead of or in addition to appointing any such
officers, arrange with any Minister of the Crown or public body, that
officers of that Minister or body shall act for those purposes.
(2) In paragraph (1) "public body" means—
(a) a department of the Government of the United Kingdom;
(b) a
Northern Ireland department; or
(c) a body performing functions on
behalf of the Crown.
(3) When acting for the purposes of this Order, an
officer shall, if so required, produce written evidence of his authority so to
act.
Powers of officers
7B. —(1) An officer acting for the purposes of this Order may at
all reasonable times—
(a) enter and inspect any relevant business premises;
(b) require
the production of any records required to be kept under this Order, inspect
and examine those records, remove those records from the premises where they
are kept and copy any material part of them; and
(c) subject to
paragraph (6), require any person on those premises to furnish him with such
information as he may reasonably require for the purpose of ascertaining
whether the provisions of this Order and of any regulations made thereunder
are being complied with or of enabling the Department to exercise its
functions under this Order.
(2) If an officer seeks to inspect or acquire, in
accordance with paragraph (1)(b) or (c), a record or information which is not
kept at the premises being inspected, he may require any person on the
premises—
(a) to inform him where and by whom the record or information is kept,
and
(b) to make arrangements, if it is reasonably practicable for the
person to do so, for the record or information to be inspected by or
furnished to the officer at the premises at a time specified by the
officer.
(3) In paragraph (1) "relevant business premises"
means premises—
(a) which are used, have been used or are to be used for or in
connection with the carrying on of an employment agency or employment
business,
(b) which the officer has reasonable cause to believe are
used or have been used for or in connection with the carrying on of an
employment agency or employment business, or
(c) which the officer
has reasonable cause to believe are used for the carrying on of a business
by a person who also carries on or has carried on an employment agency or
employment business, if the officer also has reasonable cause to believe
that records or other documents which relate to the employment agency or
employment business are kept there.
(4) For the purposes of this Article—
(a) "record" includes information recorded in any form, and
(b)
information is kept at premises if it is accessible from them.
(5) The powers conferred by paragraph (1) include,
in relation to records which are kept by means of a computer—
(a) power to require the records to be produced in a form in which they
are legible and can be taken away; and
(b) power to require access
to, and to check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus
or material which is or has been in use in connection with the records in
question.
(6) Nothing in this Article shall require a person
to produce, provide access to or make arrangements for the production of
anything which he could not be compelled to produce in civil proceedings
before the High Court.
(7) Subject to paragraph
(8), a statement made by a person in compliance with a requirement under this
Article may be used in evidence against him in criminal
proceedings.
(8) Except in proceedings for an
offence under Article 10 of the Perjury (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (NI 19)
(false statements otherwise than on oath), no evidence relating to the
statement may be adduced, and no question relating to it may be asked, by or
on behalf of the prosecution unless—
(a) evidence relating to it is adduced, or
(b) a question
relating to it is asked,
by or on behalf of the person who made the
statement.
(9) Any person who—
(a) obstructs an officer in the exercise of his powers under
sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (1); or
(b) without reasonable
excuse, fails to comply with a requirement under sub-paragraph (c) of that
paragraph or under paragraph (2),
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding level 3 on the standard
scale.
(10) No information obtained in the
course of exercising the powers conferred by this Article shall be disclosed
except—
(a) with the consent of the person by whom the information was furnished
or, where the information was furnished on behalf of another person, with
the consent of that other person or with the consent of the person carrying
on or proposing to carry on the employment agency or employment business
concerned; or
(b) to the Department, or an officer appointed by, or
person exercising functions on behalf of, the Department for the purposes of
the exercise of functions under this Order, or
(c) by the Department,
or an officer appointed by, or person exercising functions on behalf of, the
Department to the person carrying on or proposing to carry on the employment
agency or employment business concerned, to any person in his employment or,
in the case of information relating to a person availing himself of the
services of such an agency or business, to that person; or
(d) with a
view to the institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of, any criminal
proceedings pursuant to or arising out of this Order or for the purposes of
any proceedings under Article 5A or 5C.
(11) Any person who contravenes paragraph (10)
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.".
(3) In Article 9A (offences: extension of time limit)
in paragraph (1) after “7(2) insert “, 7B(11).
Qualification for
certain appointments
3. In
Article 82 of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998
(NI 21) (appointment of President and Vice-President of the Industrial Tribunals
and the Fair Employment Tribunal and of a panel of chairmen of the Fair
Employment Tribunal) for paragraph (2) (qualifications for appointment)
substitute—
" (2) A person is not qualified for appointment
under paragraph (1) unless —
(a) he is a barrister-at-law or solicitor of at least 7 years'
standing;
(b) he has a 7 year general qualification within the
meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41);
or
(c) he is an advocate or solicitor admitted in Scotland of at
least 7 years' standing.".
Enforcement of sums awarded by Fair Employment
Tribunal
4. In Article 87 of
the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (NI 21)
(enforcement of awards of Tribunal) for the words from "an award of
compensation" to "Article 86(1)" substitute "any sum payable in pursuance of a
decision of the Tribunal".
Minor
amendments
5. —(1) In Article
90(5) of the Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (NI 5) (codes of
practice)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (a) after "Article 92A" insert "of the Employment
Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996"; and
(b) in sub-paragraph (b)
after "Article 92A(2)" insert "of that Order".
(2) In Articles 152 (1)(b) and 157(1) of the
Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (NI 16) (compensatory award)
after "158" insert ", 158A".
A. K. Galloway
Clerk of the
Privy Council
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of
the Order)This Order provides for new enforcement powers in
connection with the regulation of employment agencies and employment businesses.
It also amends the qualifications for certain appointments in relation to
industrial tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal and provides for the
enforcement of sums payable in pursuance of a decision of the Fair Employment
Tribunal.
ISBN 0 11 080017 6
| © Crown copyright 2005 |
Prepared 23 December 2005
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