To ask the Minister for the Economy to confirm (i) what equality impact assessment her Department has undertaken to consider employees who are people with dependants in the Coronavirus economic strategy and relaxation of rules enabling people to return to work; and (ii) what support will be in place to ensure people who are parents or carers will be protected so that they are not subject to redundancy or have to resign from employment as a result of lack of childcare or daycare provision.

Relaxation of Restrictions and Economic Recovery

On 12th May 2020, the Executive announced and published a new phased five-stage plan for slowly moving out of lockdown; ‘Coronavirus Executive Approach to Decision Making’. The document sets out the approach the Executive will take when deciding how to ease restrictions in the future, as we move through the phases of relaxation to recovery.

It is for the Executive therefore, through the First and deputy First Minister’s Office, to determine when further relaxation measures will be permitted, including those related to the re-opening of employment sectors, and the subsequent return to work of employees.

Details, including the dates on which any further relaxations come into effect, will be provided on a regular basis, and the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 will be updated accordingly.

In making such decisions, the Executive Office will be guided by most up-to-date scientific evidence; the ability of the health service to cope; and the wider impacts on our health, society and the economy.

Further to this Executive announcement, my Department took the lead on a piece of work, focussed on economic recovery. Working with a number of key stakeholders, officials committed to developing a series of papers that would be presented to the Executive. These papers will outline initial thinking on how the economic recovery plan could materialise.

This will include consideration of safe working practices for individual sectors or working environments, the need for continued social distancing and flexible working in the foreseeable future, and the support, financial and otherwise that will be required to enable different businesses and employers to implement such.

My Department has now published the first of these papers; an analysis on how we can take our first steps to restart our economy safely. This is available at:

https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/publications/charting-course-economy

My Department is not developing a Coronavirus economic strategy, and therefore, it is not deemed necessary to carry out an equality impact assessment

Childcare and Day care provision

Lead policy and operational responsibility for childcare and daycare provision in Northern Ireland resides with the Department of Health and the Department of Education.

Obviously, this will be a key factor and integral to the work of the Executive in implementing further relaxation measures and implementing the economic recovery plan.

The Executive will take a collective approach therefore, to ensure that adequate childcare and daycare provision is in place, as soon as this is safe and practicable to do so, and this will be reflected in the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020.

Employment Rights

With regard to employment protection for employees and workers with caring responsibilities, Northern Ireland has strong and robust employment law, whereby all employees are protected by law against unfair treatment and dismissal.

Redundancy is a form of dismissal, and where an employee is dismissed for exercising or trying to exercise a statutory employment right, they will have been automatically unfairly dismissed. An employee's statutory employment rights include but are not limited to:

 maternity, paternity or adoption leave

 parental leave

 time off for dependants

 the right to request flexible working arrangements

Employers must use a fair and objective way of selecting people to make redundant. If the reasons an employee is selected for redundancy are unfair then they will have been unfairly dismissed.

Anyone who finds themselves in this position may consider contacting the Labour Relations Agency Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300 for free, confidential and impartial information. In addition, the Law Centre NI provides free, independent, specialist legal advice on employment rights. The Law Centre can be contacted on their advice line on 028 9024 4401 or by email: employmentadvice@lawcentreni.org