Fair Employment (School Teachers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022

This legislation was enacted by the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022 and came into effect on 12th May 2024.

From this date, it will be unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of religious or philosophical belief or political opinion in respectof the recruitment or promotion of teachers in schools in Northern Ireland.

Prior to 2003, FETO, and its predecessors, did not prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religious or philosophical belief or political opinion in relation to any aspect of the employment of school teachers. That was due to the effects of article 71 of FETO, commonly known as the teachers’ exception.

This situation changed through a process that began in 2003 when an EU equality law, Council Directive 2000/78/EC, required the exception to be modified and
narrowed. As a result, and since then, FETO has prohibited discrimination on its equality grounds in relation to most aspects of the employment of teachers in
schools; e.g. in relation to pay, training, absence and performance management,
dismissal, harassment.

Despite that change, FETO’s prohibition of discrimination did not apply to the recruitment or promotion of teachers in schools due to the continuing effects of one part of the article 71 exception that remained.

The remaining gap in coverage was filled on 12 May 2024 with the inrtoduction of this legislation.