Debate contribution: Family and Carer Friendly Hours
Debate contribution by Mr Robbie Butler on .
- MLA
- Mr Robbie Butler
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 19 March 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Family and Carer Friendly Hours
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4279465
Read the official Assembly record
Text
We do not often get to question 14. I thank the Member for his question. The Assembly Commission recognises the substantial impact that being a carer can have on an employee’s working life, and the important contribution that carers make towards the economy and wider society. The Assembly Commission has a specific policy entitled, ‘Support for Carers: Guidance for Managers & Staff’, which sets out the support that is available to staff with caring responsibilities. On the support that is available, the Assembly Commission has a flexible working and partial retirement policy, which allows a member of staff to adjust their working pattern either permanently or on a temporary basis. The special leave policy gives staff the statutory right to time off for care of dependents. Although the statutory right is to unpaid time off, the Assembly Commission may, in certain circumstances, give staff a limited amount of paid time off work. In addition, the policy provides for non-statutory time off for domestic reasons. Extended unpaid special leave can also be granted, subject to business need. The parental leave policy enables an eligible staff member to take a set period of unpaid leave from work in order to take care of a child. The shared parental leave policy sets out the rights of staff members to take shared parental leave. That allows staff to choose how to share the care of their child during their first year or first year of adoption. The annual leave policy makes provision for the carry-over of annual leave, which may assist staff who are aware that they will need a long period of annual leave during the following year for caring purposes. The staff hours at work policy affords a staff member the opportunity to accrue additional time worked, which can be taken during recess or when business is quieter. I have summarised the main policies for staff, but, of course, we recognise that, as a political institution, it is often the case that staff support is required out of hours.
337 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.51 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.60 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.25 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.09 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.04 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.02 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:51 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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