The Employment Rights (Dispute Resolution) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998

Dismissal procedures agreements

13.—(1) In Article 142 of the [1996 NI 16.] Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (which provides that the statutory right not to be unfairly dismissed does not apply to employees covered by a designated dismissal procedures agreement), for paragraph (2) (which provides that the statutory right nevertheless applies in the case of dismissals specified in certain statutory provisions) there shall be substituted—

“(2) But if the agreement includes provision that it does not apply to dismissals of particular descriptions, paragraph (1) does not apply in relation to a dismissal of any such description.”.

(2) In paragraph (3) of that Article (which specifies the matters as to which the Department must be satisfied before designating a dismissal procedures agreement), for sub-paragraph (e) (which requires a dismissal procedures agreement to provide for arbitration or independent adjudication where a decision cannot otherwise be reached) there shall be substituted—

“(e)the agreement includes provision either for arbitration in every case or for—

(i)arbitration where (by reason of equality of votes or for any other reason) a decision under the agreement cannot otherwise be reached, and

(ii)a right to submit to arbitration any question of law arising out of such a decision, and”.

(3) After paragraph (5) of that Article there shall be added—

“(6) Where an award is made under a designated dismissal procedures agreement it may be enforced, by leave of a county court, in the same manner as a judgment of the court to the same effect and, where leave is given, judgment may be entered in terms of the award.”.

(4) In Article 229 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (which specifies the debts which the Department must satisfy if an employer has become insolvent) in paragraph (1)(d) (which specifies a basic award of compensation for unfair dismissal payable by the employer), after “dismissal” there shall be inserted “or so much of an award under a designated dismissal procedures agreement as does not exceed any basic award of compensation for unfair dismissal to which the employee would be entitled but for the agreement”.

(5) The amendments made by paragraphs (1) and (2) do not affect any dismissal procedures agreement designated by the Department before those paragraphs come into operation.