To ask the Minister for the Economy what actions she is taking to ensure that employees made redundant, then re-hired to benefit from the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, do not have their redundancy or other employment rights impacted negatively.

Mrs Dodds

Thank you for your question. My officials are actively engaging with their counterparts in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to ascertain what, if any, changes are required to employment law in Northern Ireland following the extension of the coronavirus job retention scheme. HMRC is responsible for the scheme and its eligibility criteria. However, I understand that employees who were on the payroll on 23 September 2020, but who were made redundant or stopped working for their employer afterwards, can be re-employed and claimed for. As the scheme is operated by HMRC, any employer requiring information on the extension should contact HMRC directly. I firmly believe that employers who have been able to take advantage of the scheme should treat staff fairly and respect employee rights, including those relating to redundancy consultation, notice period and redundancy pay. That is why I previously introduced legislation to ensure that employees furloughed under the original scheme would not see reductions in those entitlements. Any individual who believes that their employment rights have been breached should consider contacting the Labour Relations Agency's workplace information service for confidential and impartial information or the Law Centre Northern Ireland, which continues to provide free, independent, specialist legal advice on employment rights.

Mrs Dodds

I am. I agree that the lateness of the hour in bringing forward the extension of the scheme has caused significant problems for employees and for employers, who had already made their business plans based on another set of circumstances. I fully agree with you. You will have heard me call numerous times for the job retention scheme to be extended, particularly for sectors that still have and will have a significant tailback in their recovery from the pandemic. I will, of course, instruct officials to look at any gaps that there may be, but no employee being re-employed should suffer disadvantage. If there are to be redundancies while that person is on furlough, it should not be based on their furlough wage but on their full entitlement, so that people are not disadvantaged in that way either.

Mr Dunne

The Minister will be aware that legislation on domestic violence went through the House last week. That was long overdue, and we really welcome it. Will the Minister advise the House on her views on special paid leave for victims of domestic abuse?

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs)

That is beyond this question, but, if the Minister wishes to answer, that is over to her.

Mrs Dodds

This is an issue of huge importance, and it is important that the Minister charged with employment rights should take a view on it. I know that there is huge support in the House for this issue. I recognise that some employers already act in a compassionate and progressive way in relation to this issue with people who have worked for a long time in their business. Therefore, I have asked officials to give consideration to this, and I will revert to the House in due course.

Ms Rogan

It is concerning that some employers have recently adopted policies of firing and then rehiring workers under poor terms and conditions, such as zero-hours contracts etc. Will the Minister look to amend the legislation to ensure that workers are not open to that exploitation in such a way?

Mrs Dodds

It is difficult for me to speak of individual circumstances, but employers should not use the pandemic to abuse or negate employees' rights. That is why I introduced the legislation around furlough payments and potential redundancies. I advise any employees who feel that their rights have been abused to contact the Law Centre or Labour Relations Agency where there will be specialist advice and people who will be able to take it further for them.