Public Interest Disclosure (Compensation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

Made29th September 1999

Coming into operation31st October 1999

The Department of Economic Development, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Article 162B of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 19961 and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement1

These Regulations may be cited as the Public Interest Disclosure (Compensation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 and shall come into operation on 31st October 1999.

Interpretation2

In these Regulations “the 1996 Order” means the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

Compensation3

Articles 151 to 162A2 of the 1996 Order shall apply to compensation awarded, or a compensatory award made, to a person in a case where he is regarded as unfairly dismissed by virtue of Article 134A3 or 137(5A)4 of the 1996 Order, with the following modifications—

a

as if, after Article 158(1), there were inserted the following paragraph—

1A
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to compensation awarded, or a compensatory award made, to a person in a case where he is regarded as unfairly dismissed by virtue of Article 134A or 137(5A).

b

as if, in Article 151(6)5—

i

after sub-paragraph (c), the word “and” was omitted; and

ii

after sub-paragraph (d), there was inserted—

and
e
a dismissal where the reason (or if more than one, the principal reason)—
i
in a redundancy case, for selecting the employee for dismissal, or
ii
otherwise, for the dismissal,
is that specified in Article 134A.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Economic Development on

R. B. GambleAssistant Secretary29th September 1999.

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations modify the application of provisions of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (“the 1996 Order”) to compensation awarded, or a compensatory award made, in cases where an employee has been dismissed, or selected for dismissal on the grounds of redundancy, because he made a protected disclosure.

Regulation 3 removes the monetary limit, which Article 158(1) of the 1996 Order imposes on the amount of compensation which may be awarded and on the amount of a compensatory award. It also provides for the payment of a higher additional award under Article 151(3) of the 1996 Order.