EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order increases, from 6th April 2019, the limits applying to certain awards of industrial tribunals, the Fair Employment Tribunal or Labour Relations Agency statutory arbitration, and other amounts payable under employment legislation, as specified in the Schedule to the Order.
Under Article 33 of the Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (“the 1999 Order”), if the retail prices index (RPI) for September of a year is higher (or lower) than the index for the previous September, the Department is required to change the limits, by Order, by the amounts of the increase or decrease (rounded as specified in Article 33(3) of the 1999 Order as amended). The increases made by this Order reflect the increase in the index of 3.3% from September 2017 to September 2018.
The increases apply where the event giving rise to the entitlement to compensation or other payments occurs on or after 6th April 2019. Article 2 of the Order revokes the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) (No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018 No. 80) (“the 2018 Order”). Article 4 of the Order preserves limits previously in operation under the 2018 Order in relation to cases where the relevant event was before 6th April 2019.
An impact assessment is not required because the 1999 Order provides for indexation according to a pre-determined formula linked to RPI.