W1B-017 QUB business-0.txt
01 May 1998 Dear Colleague FAIR EMPLOYMENT (NORTHERN IRELAND) ACT 1989 (as amended)

You may be aware that the University is required by the above Act under the Fair Employment (Monitoring) Regulations (NI) 1989, to monitor the perceived religious affiliation or community background of both its employees and applicants for employment, in order to make an annual monitoring return to the Fair Employment Commission.

In the past, the University has used the 'first schools'method as its principal means of determining the community background of employees and applicants to the organisation. This process was slow, inefficient and increasingly inaccurate relying on an outdated primary schools directory produced by the Department of Economic Development.

In February 1998, the University changed its method of monitoring to the 'direct question', asking applicants whether they belong to the Protestant community, the Roman Catholic community or neither. This had an immediate effect on the efficiency of the monitoring process.

However, in changing the principal monitoring method, the University is required to re-survey those members of staff for whom no determination of community background has been made. Previously, employees who stated that they received their primary school education outside Northern Ireland and for whom no determination of community background was made, were included in the University's statutory monitoring return as 'nondetermined' and referred to within the University as 'Non Northern Ireland' or 'XNI'. The 'Residuary Method' was not used as a method of trying to 'perceive' the religious affiliation/community background of such employees.

Under the terms of the Fair Employment (Monitoring) Regulations (NI) 1989, a resurvey of staff previously categorised as 'Non Northern Ireland' is required to ensure that their details are included in the Monitoring Return. Upon receipt of completed forms, staff taking part in this re-survey will be advised to the amended information held on the monitoring system and will be given the opportunity to correct this is required. Where information is not supplied, the Residuary Method will be used to make a determination (where possible) and staff will also be given the opportunity to amend this, if required.

This exercise is a legal requirement placed on the University and I request your co-operation and assistance in complying with it. It should be noted that it is not envisaged that the overall profile of the University in terms of the community background of its staff will change significantly as a result of this re-survey.

Any information you provide will be treated with the strictest levels of confidentiality and will only be used to produce statistical summaries where the identities of individuals will not appear. The information will not be available for any purpose other than Equal Opportunities Monitoring.

I would be grateful if you would complete the enclosed re-survey form and return it to this office on or before TUESDAY 12 MAY 1998. I have enclosed a reply envelope for your convenience.

If you have any queries about this re-survey, please do not hesitate to contact this office at extension 3039/5139

Thanking you in anticipation of your co-operation in this re-survey exercise.

Yours faithfully Paul Browne Equal Opportunities Manager Encs
