The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

Complaints to industrial tribunals N.I.

71.—(1) An employee may present a complaint to an industrial tribunal that he has been subjected to a detriment in contravention of Article [F1 67M,] 68,[F2 69, 70[F3 ,70A[F4 , 70C or[F5 70E]]]].

[F6 (1ZA) A worker may present a complaint to an industrial tribunal that he has been subjected to a detriment in contravention of Article 68A.]

[F7 (1A) A worker may present a complaint to an industrial tribunal that he has been subjected to a detriment in contravention of Article 70B.]

[F8 (1B) A person may present a complaint to an industrial tribunal that he has been subjected to a detriment in contravention of Article 70D.]

(2) [F7 On a complaint under this Article] it is for the employer to show the ground on which any act, or deliberate failure to act, was done.

(3) An industrial tribunal shall not consider a complaint under this Article unless it is presented—

(a) before the end of the period of three months beginning with the date of the act or failure to act to which the complaint relates or, where that act or failure is part of a series of similar acts or failures, the last of them, or

(b) within such further period as the tribunal considers reasonable in a case where it is satisfied that it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented before the end of that period of three months.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3)—

(a) where an act extends over a period, the “date of the act” means the last day of that period, and

(b) a deliberate failure to act shall be treated as done when it was decided on;

and, in the absence of evidence establishing the contrary, an employer shall be taken to decide on a failure to act when he does an act inconsistent with doing the failed act or, if he has done no such inconsistent act, when the period expires within which he might reasonably have been expected to do the failed act if it was to be done.

[F2 (5) In this Article and Article 72 any reference to the employer includes, where a person complains that he has been subjected to a dertiment in contravention of Article 70A, the principal (within the meaning of Article 91A(3)).]

F1 2004 NI 19

F2 1998 NI 15

F3 1999 NI 9

F4 2002 NI 2

F5 2003 NI 15

F6 SR 1998/386

F7 1998 NI 17

F8 Art. 71(1B) inserted (1.9.2002 for certain purposes, otherwise prosp.) by Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21), ss. 27, 61, Sch. 1 para. 2(3); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Art. 71 applied (1.10.2006) by Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (S.R. 2006/261), regs. 1(1), 51, Sch. 5 para. 13(3) (with reg. 50)

C2 Art. 71(2)-(4) applied (6.4.2006) by Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Consultation by Employers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (S.R. 2006/48), reg. 17, Sch. para. 8(2)

C3 Art. 71(2)-(14) applied (18.8.2006) by virtue of European Cooperative Society (Involvement of Employees) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/2059), regs. 2, 34(2), Sch. 3 para. 22

C4 Art. 71(2)-(4) applied (with modifications) (prosp.) by Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (c. 13), ss. 56, 118(1) (with s. 73)

C5 Art. 71(2)-(4) applied (with modifications) (1.10.2009) by European Public Limited-Liability Company (Employee Involvement) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2402), reg. 32(2) (with reg. 39)