This is an excerpt of the WRC response. You can read the full letter here.

We wish to raise concerns about the length of time available to respond to this call for views (Employment Bill). While we welcome having the opportunity to respond to this important legislation we have concerns about the process in terms of the tight turnaround for responses with consultees only being given just over three weeks to respond. We appreciate that this is due to the end of the mandate and the Bill being introduced late however this short deadline goes against all existing good practice on consultations: When government consults it must build a realistic timeframe for the consultation, allowing plenty of time for each stage of the process.”

This call for views came at a time when the women’s sector and indeed the wider voluntary and community sector has come under significant pressure with the sheer volume of consultations ongoing. These consultations are significant in terms of their importance and many have particular implications for the women’s sector so have required an investment of time and resources to produce detailed responses. These include consultations on a Housing Supply Strategy, Domestic Abuse & Sexual Abuse and Violence Against Women Calls for Evidence and a consultation on Hate Crime legislation to name but a few.

Despite this challenging work environment the timeframe for responses to this Bill was very short and puts significant pressure on an already over-worked and under[1]resourced voluntary and community sector. With a deadline this short it is impossible to carry out meaningful consultation with women. We would refer the Northern Ireland Assembly to the guidance on consulting with women produced by Women’s Regional Consortium members WRDA3 which advocates making time for accessible face to face engagement.

This is an excerpt of the WRC response. You can read the full letter here.