16 EQUALITY LEGISLATION, SUB-CONTRACTING, EMPLOYEES AND DOCUMENTARY CHANGES

The system of employment law in Northern Ireland is similar to that operating in Great Britain with the main exception being the Fair Employment legislation that outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religious belief and/or political opinion and which is contained in the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 and is described in greater detail below.

Northern Ireland law is most commonly found in Orders in Council corresponding to Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament. For example, the employment rights contained in the Employment Rights Act 1996 are, in Northern Ireland, set out in the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. A table showing the corresponding pieces of legislation is set out at the end of this section. Northern Ireland legislation can be accessed on the Stationery Office website at http://www.northernireland-Iegislation.hmso.gov.uk/. The section numbering across Acts and the equivalent Northern Ireland Orders is rarely the same.

Two significant pieces of legislation apply UK wide: the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 ("DDA") and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 SI 246, better known as "TUPE".

Implementation of Northern Ireland legislation usually lags a month or more behind the equivalent measures in the rest of the UK but developments can be monitored and guidance accessed by looking at the Employment Rights section on the website of the Department for Employment and Learning at http://www.delni.gov.uk/index.cfm. In relation to equality issues, developments can be monitored at http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/equality/index.htm. on the website of the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister ("OFMDFM") and guidance is available from the Equality Commission at http://www.equalityni.org/index.cfm.