The Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 2004

Power of the Court to end period for agreement on bargaining unit

2.—(1) Paragraph 18 of Schedule 1A to the 1995 Order (appropriate bargaining unit) is amended as follows.

(2) In sub-paragraph (2), after “is” insert “(subject to any notice under sub-paragraph (3), (4) or (5))”.

(3) After that sub-paragraph add—

“(3) If, during the appropriate period, the Court concludes that there is no reasonable prospect of the parties' agreeing an appropriate bargaining unit before the time when (apart from this sub-paragraph) the appropriate period would end, the Court may, by a notice given to the parties, declare that the appropriate period ends with the date of the notice.

(4) If, during the appropriate period, the parties apply to the Court for a declaration that the appropriate period is to end with a date (specified in the application) which is earlier than the date with which it would otherwise end, the Court may, by a notice given to the parties, declare that the appropriate period ends with the specified date.

(5) If the Court has declared under sub-paragraph (4) that the appropriate period ends with a specified date, it may before that date by a notice given to the parties specify a later date with which the appropriate period ends.

(6) A notice under sub-paragraph (3) must contain reasons for reaching the conclusion mentioned in that sub-paragraph.

(7) A notice under sub-paragraph (5) must contain reasons for the extension of the appropriate period.”.