16.2.1 In Northern Ireland it has for many years been unlawful to discriminate in the field of employment on the grounds of religious belief and/or political opinion. The current legislation which applies to both the private and public sector is the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.
16.2.2 In addition any employer with more than 10 employees is required to register with the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland and submit an initial and annual monitoring return on the community background (Protestant/Unionist or Roman Catholic/Nationalist) of the workforce. It is an offence not to register and not to submit an annual monitoring return.
16.2.3 The Equality Commission, through its Fair Employment Directorate, will advise on registration and monitoring. The Equality Commission may prosecute failures to register or submit annual monitoring returns, conduct investigations into employment practices and assist employees making complaints of unlawful discrimination on the grounds of religious belief or political opinion. Complaints of unlawful discrimination in the field of employment are dealt with by the Fair Employment Tribunal, constituted in a similar way to an Employment Tribunal hearing a race case. The Fair Employment Tribunal hears only complaints of religious/political discrimination. Complaints of other types of discrimination are heard by Industrial Tribunals. There is a Fair Employment Code of Practice setting out best practice in this area to which the Fair Employment Tribunal may have regard in considering complaints. This and much other useful guidance may be accessed via the Equality Commission's website at (http://www.equalityni.org.)
16.2.4 The legal principles established in relation to race and sex discrimination inform fair employment litigation and vice-versa.
16.2.5 Certain professions are excepted from both direct and indirect discrimination under the Fair Employment legislation. These are clergymen and ministers of religion, teachers in schools, employment in a private household, and jobs where their essential nature requires them to be done by a person holding, or not holding, a particular religious belief or political opinion.
16.2.6 The range of warranties and indemnities in respect of employees, employment practices and employment related litigation should reflect the Fair Employment legislation and all the related obligations on employers.