Plan to overhaul Northern Ireland employment law ‘does not go far enough'

Belfast Telegraph

04-05-2025

Susan Fitzgerald said the Good Jobs Bill was 'far from a revolutionary document' and the implementation of the legislation involves a long transitional period.
Last week, Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said the 'ambitious' proposals in the Bill included tackling zero-hour contracts, improvements to family-related leave and strengthened rights for trade unions.
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The proposals also aimed to enhance protections for agency workers, ensure tips were passed on to staff in full and introduce easier access to flexible working arrangements.
Ms Fitzgerald, Unite Ireland regional secretary, said the union is discussing the minister's proposals with union representatives and activists.
'We will be guided by the discussions we have with workers, who will be on the receiving end or otherwise of the proposals,' she told BBC NI's Sunday Politics show.
'I suppose our point is it's far from a revolutionary document, to be fair, where it doesn't go far enough from a trading perspective, or hasn't addressed at all.
'But there's no question that, you just take a sample of some of the items – tips, flexible working opportunities, neonatal leave and pay for pregnant workers, protections against unfair redundancy for pregnant workers, movement on zero hour contracts, movement on fire and rehire – I actually don't know how anyone can disagree with any of those areas.
'I think one of the key things for us now is what are – in some cases mostly just headlines – is getting behind the detail of what we need to see implemented.
'But I have to say an area of concern is – maybe it's an attempt to reassure people – but it's the proposal to have what feels like a long transition period, and presumably that would only commence after the process has gone through Stormont. That's not good enough.
'It's actually unconscionable to say to someone, we know your rights are not currently protected, we know you're not currently being treated with respect, You're currently very vulnerable, but bear with, we don't want to scare the horses.'
Suzanne Wylie, chief executive of NI Chamber, said that a 'very complex' set of regulations of codes of practice are being proposed.
'It is, as the minister has said, the biggest overhaul in employment law in decades, and so our businesses across Northern Ireland really need to be prepared for that,' she said.
'There's a lot in these, and this is really about putting right these proposals. There's a lot more to the creation of good jobs than just aspect of employee rights.'
Ms Wylie said that similar legislation is going through Westminster, which is estimated to cost businesses some £5 billion.
'If we think about the challenges that businesses here are facing at this point with increases in tax, increases in minimum wage, living wage, etc, AI, that's disrupting how we work our days, the cost of energy, etc. Really, really challenging time for business.
'We really do have to think about how these proposals are going to be implemented, and how that balance will be achieved between ensuring that we have viable businesses that can grow and a growing economy that we can really create good jobs for the future.'