I beg to move

That the draft Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 be approved.

The Business Committee has agreed that there should be no time limit on the debate. I call on the Minister to open the debate on the motion.

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

[Translation: Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker.]

I am seeking the Assembly's approval of the draft Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024. All Members will be aware that workers' rights are at the forefront of my economic vision, and I will continue to work towards improving them throughout the mandate.

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL) revoked aspects of EU retained law from 1 January 2024, together with the principle of the supremacy of EU law and some other legal concepts. As a result, the Department identified that certain commonly accepted principles relating to annual leave and pay could be at risk of misinterpretation if action were not taken to provide domestic legal clarity. Some of our annual leave rights are EU derived and, as such, could be restated using the powers in the REUL Act. My Department did that prior to 1 January 2024, and it included the issues of maternity and parental leave. Some other leave rights are domestically derived and require a statutory rule to be affirmed by the Assembly in order to be restated, and that is what I am seeking to do today.

The draft Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 seek to provide clarity in our legislation and restate certain statutory rights in relation to shared parental, parental bereavement, adoption and paternity leave. The purpose of the regulations is to remove any potential uncertainty in law about previously agreed and accepted annual leave entitlements following our exit from the EU.

The statutory rule amends regulations 2 and 17 of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016. The amendment to regulation 2 provides clarification that the definition of statutory leave within those regulations is the same as that within Part 9 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. The amendment to regulation 17 provides that compensation related to an entitlement to leave will cover unused leave at the point that a worker's employment is terminated if the worker is entitled to carry over that unused leave into the next immediate leave year by virtue of a relevant agreement.

The draft Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 will provide legal certainty regarding leave entitlements. I look forward to the Assembly's support.

I will speak briefly on behalf of the Committee for the Economy.

As the Minister said, the regulations address problems that arise from the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023. The Act may have removed certain interpretative effects, creating a risk that the case law defining what should be included in normal remuneration would fall away. Consequently, the statutory rule amends the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 to clarify what is meant by maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave, parental leave and paternity leave. The rule also clarifies that compensation related to an entitlement to leave will cover unused leave at the point that a worker's employment is terminated in certain circumstances.

The Committee considered the rule on 15 May 2024 and later noted that the Examiner of Statutory Rules had no concerns in respect of the regulations. The Committee indicated that it was content for the regulations to be affirmed by the Assembly.

Tacaím leis na rialacháin seo le cearta oibrithe a chosaint agus le buíochas a thabhairt don Aire Eacnamaíochta, Conor Murphy, as an obair thábhachtach sin a chur chun cinn.

Cosnaíonn na rialacháin oibrithe ar fud an Tuaiscirt ar an éiginnteacht fostaíochta a chruthaigh Breatimeacht. Cosnaíonn siad cearta na n-oibrithe chun saoire bliantúla le pá; an ceart saoire bhliantúil, saoire mháithreachais agus saoire aithreachais a thabhairt ar aghaidh; saoire uchtaithe; agus cúiteamh bainteach le teidlíocht ar bith ar shaoire bhliantúil.

Is iomaí buntáiste don fhostaitheoir agus don fhostaí a thig ó bheith ag cosaint chearta na n-oibrithe chun saoire le pá. Ó thaobh an fhostaitheora de, cuidíonn sé le saineolas agus le scileanna a choinneáil, agus ardaíonn sé táirgiúlacht sa lucht saothair. Cuireann táirgiúlacht ard le brí agus le fuinneamh na heacnamaíochta.

Tá an cuspóir sin i gcroílár an chláir oibre atá ag Conor Murphy don fhás eacnamaíochta agus don rathúnas ar fud an Tuaiscirt agus i gcomhthéacs eacnamaíochta uile-oileáin. Tá tábhacht ar leith leis na cosaintí seo do fhostaithe agus dá dteaghlaigh, nó cuireann siad ar chumas fostaithe aghaidh a thabhairt ar chúrsaí tábhachtacha teaghlaigh ar a éascaíocht. Lena chois sin, cuidíonn na cosaintí le fostaithe sásamh a bhaint as a gcuid oibre, agus cuireann siad le dea-bhraistint na bhfostaithe.

Má bhíonn oibrithe sona sásta, beidh siad táirgiúil, agus is treise agus is cothroime don eacnamaíocht nuair a dhéantar cearta na n-oibrithe a chosaint mar is ceart. Leag an tAire Eacnamaíochta amach an mhian atá aige Poist Mhaithe a chruthú agus eacnamaíocht a fhorbairt sa Tuaisceart a bhainfeas tairbhe as an acmhainn atá i gcreat Windsor.

Má tá clár le bheith ann le Poist Mhaithe a chruthú, ní mór lán-chosaint chearta na n-oibrithe, pá mhaith, cinnteacht phoist agus cearta cinnte ar chomh-mhargáil bheith ina gcuid lárnach de. Tá na cosaintí sin riachtanach má táimid le teaghlaigh rathúla fholláine a chothú in eacnamaíocht bheo bhríomhar.

Molaim an tAire as an chúram atá sé a dhéanamh de na tosaíochtaí sin.

[Translation: I support the regulations to protect the rights of workers and thank the Minister for the Economy, Conor Murphy, for progressing this important work. The regulations protect workers across the North from the employment insecurity created by Brexit. They specifically protects workers' rights to paid annual leave; the right to carry over annual leave, maternity/paternity leave; adoption leave; and compensation related to any entitlement for annual leave. There are many benefits for the employer and the employee from the protection of workers' right to paid leave. In the case of an employer, it helps in the retention of knowledge and skills and promotes higher levels of productivity in the workforce. Higher productivity contributes to a stronger and more vibrant economy. That objective is at the heart of Minister Conor Murphy's agenda for economic growth and prosperity across the North and in the context of a functioning all-island economy. Those protections are of particular importance for employees and their families because they provide flexibility in addressing important family matters, as well as contributing to an overall sense of job satisfaction and well-being. Happy workers are productive workers, and our economy is stronger and fairer when workers' rights are properly protected. The Minister for the Economy has set out his ambition to create a good jobs programme, to build an economy in the North that capitalises on the potential of the Windsor framework. An integral part of any good jobs programme must be the full protection of workers' rights, good pay, job security and guaranteed collective bargaining rights. Those are essential to sustaining healthy and prosperous families in a vibrant economy. I commend the Minister for his attention to these priorities.]

Go raibh maith agat as sin.

[Translation: Thank you.]

No other Members wish to speak, so I call the Minister for the Economy to conclude the debate.

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

[Translation: Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker.]

I thank Sinéad McLaughlin for speaking, and go raibh maith agat

[Translation: thank you]

to Declan Kearney for his contribution as well.

As I said at the outset, the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 will clarify statutory rights in relation to leave. I commend the motion to the House.

Question put and agreed to. Resolved:

That the draft Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 be approved.