A leading local employment lawyer has said Northern Ireland workers and employers are being left in limbo due to the ongoing absence of the Executive.

Ian McFarland, employment partner at Eversheds Sutherland Belfast, has said new legislation and regulations which have come into force in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, coupled with the inability to progress legislation locally, mean Northern Ireland’s employment laws are being left behind compared to neighbouring jurisdictions.

Mr McFarland has highlighted several pieces of legislation which have been enacted in Great Britain last month. These include new legal rights for parents of children requiring neonatal care, the right to unpaid leave for employees with caring responsibilities, protection for workers who receive tips, and increased rights for employees on or recently returned from family leave in a redundancy situation. Parents in the Republic of Ireland have also been granted stronger working rights to avail of breastfeeding breaks and unpaid leave for carers for medical purposes through provisions in the Work Life Balance Act.

Meanwhile, local legislation, including in relation to gender pay gap reporting, domestic abuse “safe leave”, and zero-hours workers remains on hold pending restoration of the Executive.

It comes as the Department for the Economy’s 10X Delivery Plan 2023/24, published last week, included commitments to ensure “employment relations framework remains fit for purpose”. However,...

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