The Education Reform(Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Transfer of property and staff

Transfer of property of voluntary school acquiring controlled integrated status

95.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Article, on the proposed date of implementation in relation to a controlled integrated school which immediately before that date was a voluntary school—

(a) all land or other property which, immediately before that date was property held by the trustees of the school for the purposes of the school;

(b) all rights and liabilities subsisting immediately before that date which were acquired or incurred by those trustees for those purposes;

(c) any property, rights and liabilities of the former Board of Governors of the school,

shall be transferred to, and by virtue of this Order vest in, the relevant board.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to rights and liabilities under any contract of employment.

(3) Any land or other property transferred to a board under this Article which immediately before the proposed date of implementation was held on trust shall vest in that board as trustee on the trusts applicable immediately before that date under any trust deed regulating the use of the land or other property for the purposes of the school.

(4) The Department may by regulations make provision for the payment of compensation by the Department to the trustees of a voluntary school in respect of land or other property held by them immediately before the proposed date of implementation and transferred under this Article and such regulations may provide—

(a) for the amount of compensation to be such as may be agreed between the Department and the trustees or, in default of agreement, such as may be determined by the Lands Tribunal;

(b) for the amount of compensation to be reduced where grants have been paid by the Department in respect of land or other property so transferred and for the calculation of any such reduction.

(5) On the proposed date of implementation in relation to a controlled integrated school which immediately before that date was a voluntary school, the school shall cease to be a voluntary school for the purposes of the Education Orders and the trustees and former Board of Governors of the school shall be absolutely freed and discharged from all responsibility in connection with the school whether under any deed of trust or otherwise.

(6) For the purposes of this Article any interest in a dwelling house or other residence which, immediately before the proposed date of implementation in relation to a controlled integrated school, is used or held for occupation by a person employed to work at the school shall be treated as an interest used or held for the purposes of the school.

(7) In this Article “the former Board of Governors” means, in relation to a controlled integrated school, the Board of Governors of the school immediately before the proposed date of implementation in relation to the school.

Transfer of staff

96.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), this Article applies to any person who immediately before the proposed date of implementation in relation to a controlled integrated school which is then a voluntary school,—

(a) is employed by the Board of Governors of the school; or

(b) is employed by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools to work solely at the school.

(2) This Article does not apply to—

(a) any person employed as mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) whose contract of employment terminates on the day immediately preceding the proposed date of implementation;

(b) any person employed as mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) who before that date has been—

(i) appointed or assigned by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools to work solely at another school as from that date; or

(ii) withdrawn from work at the school with effect as from that date.

(3) A person who before the proposed date of implementation has been appointed or assigned by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools to work at the school as from that date shall be treated for the purposes of this Article as if he had been employed by the Council immediately before that date to do such work at the school as he would have been required to do on or after that date under his contract of employment with the Council.

(4) References below in this Article to the former employer are references—

(a) in relation to a person to whom this Article applies by virtue of paragraph (1)(a), to the Board of Governors of the school immediately before the proposed date of implementation; and

(b) in relation to a person to whom this Article applies by virtue of paragraph (1)(b), to the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools.

(5) The contract of employment between a person to whom this Article applies and the former employer shall have effect from the proposed date of implementation as if originally made between him and the relevant board.

(6) Without prejudice to paragraph (5)—

(a) all the former employer’s rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or in connection with a contract to which that paragraph applies shall by virtue of this Article be transferred to the relevant board on the proposed date of implementation; and

(b) anything done before that date by or in relation to the former employer in respect of that contract or the employee shall be deemed from that date to have been done by or in relation to that board.

(7) Paragraphs (5) and (6) are without prejudice to any right of an employee to terminate his contract of employment if a substantial change is made to his detriment in his working conditions, but no such right shall arise by reason only of the change in employer effected by this Article.