Dismissals in connection with industrial action
9.—(1) In relation to a complaint under Article 145 of the Employment Rights Order (unfair dismissal: complaint to industrial tribunal) that a dismissal is unfair by virtue of Article 144A of the Employment Rights Order(1) (participation in official industrial action) a tribunal may adjourn the proceedings where specified civil proceedings have been brought until such time as interlocutory proceedings arising out of the specified civil proceedings have been concluded.
(2) In this rule –
“specified civil proceedings” means legal proceedings brought by any person against another person in which it is to be determined whether an act of that other person, which induced the applicant to commit an act, or each of a series of acts, is by virtue of Article 97 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(2) not actionable in tort; and
the interlocutory proceedings shall not be regarded as having concluded until all rights of appeal have been exhausted or the time for instituting any appeal in the course of the interlocutory proceedings has expired.
Article 144A was inserted by paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 to the Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/2790 (N.I. 9))