
'Discrimination' concerns over Stormont constituency jobs
Dozens of Northern Ireland Assembly members are recruiting staff in a way that could risk claims of unlawful discrimination, a BBC News NI investigation has found.They include First Minister Michelle O'Neill, as the "essential criteria" for some jobs in her constituency office suggested applicants should hold certain political beliefs.Recruitment guidance issued to members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) says they should give "equality of opportunity to all candidates irrespective of... political opinion". The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland said that, while there are "exceptions" in employment law, the job ads could be "open to a claim for unlawful discrimination".
An assembly spokesman said MLAs are given "advice on best practice" and "it is for each MLA to appoint employees on merit after a fair and open competition".Sinn Féín said staff are employed by MLAs to "pursue their priorities for constituency and assembly business", and "these priorities may legitimately be influenced by their own political perspective".MLAs claimed more than £8m in expenses in 2023-24 for constituency office staffing costs including wages.The job ads and criteria for almost 300 constituency office posts were examined by BBC News NI.The documents for many of them stated that applications were welcomed from "all backgrounds" regardless of "political opinion".
Some said candidates should have an "understanding of" the objectives or values of the MLA's political party.But others suggested applicants must hold those political beliefs.Most of those jobs were with Sinn Féin MLAs.In the "essential criteria", they said candidates should have a "strong" or "proven commitment to Sinn Féin's values".This included posts with Michelle O'Neill, the party's deputy leader.Some jobs with MLAs for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) had similar wording.
Caseworker jobs in former UUP leader Doug Beattie's office said candidates needed a "strong commitment" to the party's values.Some jobs for Cara Hunter also said candidates should have a "strong commitment to SDLP principles and values".Belfast-based employment solicitor Cormac Rice expressed concern over job vacancies being "contingent upon a predisposition towards a specific political persuasion".He said it "may undermine equality of opportunity and the need to ensure that the best candidate is appointed".
Stormont's "best practice guidance" issued to MLAs for recruitment of their office staff advises that "equality of opportunity is integral".It said recruitment should be "solely on the basis of merit" and provide "equality of opportunity to all candidates", irrespective of protected characteristics including gender, religion and "political opinion".The Equality Commission said all employers must "operate within our equality laws"."Any employer who states or implies in a job advertisement that an applicant must hold, or not hold, a particular political opinion to be eligible for the role, may leave themselves open to a claim for unlawful discrimination," a spokeswoman said.However, she said the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998 "includes an exception in relation to political opinion" where the "essential nature of a job requires it"."We advise employers to contact us for advice before publishing job advertisements that rely on this exception," she added.
A Sinn Féin spokesman said: "Every MLA is resourced to employ staff to support them to serve their constituents and pursue their priorities for constituency and assembly business."These priorities may legitimately be influenced by their own political perspective."MLAs can seek HR support from the institution to ensure fair and consistent recruitment processes that promotes equal opportunities."
An assembly spokesman said MLAs employ staff to support their work."This is distinct from support that may be provided centrally by their political party," he added."Guidance published to MLAs by the Assembly Commission provides advice on best practice in recruitment, including the need to ensure that no unlawful discrimination occurs when making employment decisions."Taking this guidance into account, it is for each MLA to appoint employees on merit after a fair and open competition."The UUP was approached for comment.The SDLP said it "remains committed to ensuring a fair and transparent process for all job applicants and appointments are made solely on merit"."We are confident we have upheld these principles throughout," a party spokesman added.
'Social media officers'
The recruitment documents were obtained through Freedom of Information requests.They also give an insight into who is being recruited by MLAs, and the kinds of jobs being advertised.Eleven of the 90 MLAs have declared employing family members.More than 60% of the staff recruited since May 2022 were members of their MLA employer's political party.Many of the jobs advertised have titles such as constituency caseworker, manager or policy adviser.Nearly 50 had "communications" in their title, while a further 19 were "social media officers".Pat McCartan, a former member of an independent Stormont panel which set rules on MLA expenses, expressed concern about some of the job titles."It's very far removed from assisting people with their constituency enquiries," he said."They're not paid to be extra party workers."Mr McCartan said there was a need for a "serious audit of the financial arrangements".An assembly spokesman said MLAs employ staff for "a range of roles such as casework, research and communications"."This is distinct from support that may be provided centrally by their political party," he added.He said staff support MLAs "to serve their constituents and pursue their priorities for constituency and assembly business"."Those specific priorities will differ for each member and may be naturally influenced by their political perspective."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK to invest 200 million pounds in Acorn carbon capture project in Scotland
LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Britain will invest 200 million pounds ($272 million) in the Acorn carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Scotland, the government said on Thursday, fleshing out details of funding for the technology announced in a spending review on Wednesday. Britain has a climate target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and has said CCS will be needed to curb emissions from energy-intensive industrial sectors. Acorn, being developed by Storegga, Shell UK (SHEL.L), opens new tab, Harbour Energy (HBR.L), opens new tab and North Sea Midstream Partners, in St Fergus, Scotland, will capture carbon dioxide emissions from industry and store them under the North Sea. "This vital support will enable the critical work needed to reach Final Investment Decision (FID) and marks a major step forward — not only for Acorn, but for the development of Scotland's CCS infrastructure and the growth of a UK-wide carbon capture and storage industry," Tim Stedman, CEO of Storegga, said in an emailed statement. The government said it would also back the Viking CCS project in the Humber region, in the north of England, without specifying how much it would receive. "This (funding) will support industrial renewal in Scotland and the Humber with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain's clean energy future," Britain's energy minister, Ed Miliband, said in a release from Britain's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Once operational, the two projects could capture up to 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, the government said. The funding is part of 9.4 billion pounds the government pledged to carbon capture technology over the spending review period and the 21.7 billion pounds it last year said would be spent on CCS over 25 years. ($1 = 0.7352 pounds)


The Herald Scotland
42 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Government ‘putting its money where its mouth is' with £200m for Acorn scheme
The scheme, which proposes storing emissions from across Scotland under the North Sea, had previously been overlooked for support despite repeated calls from the Scottish Government and others for it to be backed. With the UK Government also pledging to support the Viking Carbon capture and Storage (CCS) project in the Humber, Mr Miliband insisted the two schemes would help 'support industrial renewal' with 'thousands of highly skilled jobs'. According to the sector, Acorn could support about 15,000 jobs at its peak, with up to 20,000 jobs at the Viking project. And as it develops, it is planned that the Acorn site will link up with the former oil refinery at Grangemouth via more than 200 miles of pipelines. An existing 175 miles of gas pipes will be repurposed for this, with 35 miles of new pipeline also being built, alllowing CO2 from the Grangemouth site to be transported to Acorn's storage facilities under the North Sea – a move which is seen by many as being key in securing a future for the facility, where some 400 workers were recently made redundant. Speaking as he visited the Aberdeenshire site, Mr Miliband said: 'This Government is putting its money where its mouth is and backing the trailblazing Acorn and Viking CCS projects. (PA Graphics) 'This will support industrial renewal in Scotland and the Humber with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain's clean energy future.' The Energy Secretary added: 'Carbon capture will make working people in Britain's hard-working communities better off, breathing new life into their towns and cities and reindustrialising the country through our Plan for Change.' Mr Miliband visited the site the day after Rachel Reeves promised funding for Acorn in her spending review – although the Chancellor did not put a figure on how much support would be given in her statement to MPs. Tim Stedman, chief executive of Storegga, the lead developer of Acorn, said: 'We warmly welcome the UK Government's support for the Acorn project and the commitment to development funding that will enable the critical work needed to reach Final Investment Decision (FID).' He added that the 'milestone' was 'key not only for Acorn but for establishing Scotland's essential CCS infrastructure needed to grow and scale the UK's wider carbon capture and storage industry'. Labour will make Scotland home to the green jobs of the future. — Scottish Labour (@ScottishLabour) June 11, 2025 Mr Stedman continued: 'We look forward to working with Government in the months ahead to understand the details of today's commitment, and to ensure the policy, regulatory and funding frameworks are in place to build and grow a world-leading UK CCS sector.' Meanwhile Graeme Davies, the executive vice president at Harbour Energy, which is leading the Viking project, said the commitment from Chancellor Rachel Reeves' spending review 'sends a strong signal' that the project was 'an infrastructure-led economic growth priority' for the Parliament. He added: 'We will work with Government on the critical steps needed to progress Viking CCS towards a final investment decision'.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
UK ‘ready to go' on implementing US trade deal, says Business Secretary
The UK is 'ready to go' on implementing its trade deal with the US, the Business Secretary has said. The deal, announced last month by Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump, will see British tariffs on steel and automotive exports to the US slashed in exchange for greater access to the UK for some American goods. But the deal has still not been implemented, with both Washington and London yet to take the necessary steps to reduce tariffs. Speaking at a lunch for Westminster journalists on Thursday, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the UK was ready to implement the deal, suggesting the White House was responsible for the hold-up. He said: 'We are ready to go on our side. 'In terms of the steps I need to take, I will inform the House with a written ministerial statement and lay the statutory instruments for the reciprocal part of that deal, which is obviously about beef and ethanol for us on this side. 'So we're ready to go, and as soon as the president and the White House on their side are able to, we will implement that part of the deal.' The Business Secretary added he was 'very hopeful' that the agreement would come into effect 'very soon', but acknowledged negotiations had not 'always been easy'. Mr Reynolds's comments follow his meeting with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday to discuss implementing the deal. The meeting, which the Prime Minister also dropped in on, was the latest in a series of engagements aimed at securing a reduction in the tariffs Mr Trump imposed on the UK and the rest of the world on April 2. Along with 10% tariffs on all British goods, the president imposed 25% levies on cars and steel. He later increased the tariff on steel to 50%, but gave the UK a reprieve, keeping Britain's rate at 25% until at least July 9. Under the broad terms of last month's agreement, the US will implement quotas that will effectively eliminate the tariff on British steel and reduce the tariff on UK vehicles to 10%.