Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008

The right not to suffer detriment

55.—(1) A worker has the right not to be subjected to any detriment by an act, or a deliberate failure to act, by the worker’s employer, done on the ground that—

(a) any action was taken, or was proposed to be taken, with a view to enforcing in favour of the worker a requirement to which this section applies,

(b) the employer was prosecuted for an offence under section 45 as a result of action taken for the purpose of enforcing in favour of the worker a requirement to which this section applies, or

(c) any provision of Chapter 1 applies to the worker, or will or might apply.

(2) It is immaterial for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1)—

(a) whether or not the requirement applies in favour of the worker, or

(b) whether or not the requirement has been contravened,

but, for that subsection to apply, the claim that the requirement applies and, if applicable, the claim that it has been contravened must be made in good faith.

(3) This section applies to any requirement imposed on the employer by or under any provision of Chapter 1.

(4) This section does not apply where the detriment in question amounts to dismissal within the meaning of Part 11 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (NI 16) (in this Act referred to as “the Employment Rights Order”) (unfair dismissal).

(5) In this section references to enforcing a requirement include references to securing its benefit in any way.