Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989

30 Confidentiality of monitoring information

(1) This section applies—

(a) to information about a person employed or applying for employment in a concern which might be used if any of the methods prescribed by regulations under section 28 of this Act for determining the community to which a person is to be treated as belonging for the purposes of monitoring were applied,

(b) to information as to the community to which a person employed or applying for employment in a concern is to be treated as belonging for those purposes, and

(c) to any other information from which that community might be deduced.

(2) If person discloses any information which—

(a) he holds or has held in his capacity as an employee in a concern or as the employer, and

(b) is information to which this section applies or has applied,

he is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(3) This section does not apply to any disclosure—

(a) to the Commission or to any person employed in the concern the nature of whose duties renders it reasonable for the disclosure to be made to him,

(b) which is necessary for the purposes of any proceedings under this Act, either before a court or before the Tribunal,

(c) which is necessary for the purposes of any criminal proceedings or to comply with the order of a court, or

(d) made in pursuance of regulations made by virtue of section 28(2)(e) of this Act or where the employee or applicant to whom the disclosure relates has given his consent in writing.

(4) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to show that he has also obtained the information otherwise than in his capacity as an employee in the concern or the employer.