I was in Northern Ireland a few weeks ago, giving a presentation.

Now given that Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, you might assume that employment law is the same as it is in Great Britain.

You’d be dead wrong.

Employment law is different in Northern Ireland. There are some subtle nuances (and not so subtle ones), and for an employer, knowing the difference, or having access to someone who knows the difference, is vital.

As you can imagine, a lot of people assume that employment law is all the same across the UK, including some HR advisors.

I’ve personally had the pleasure of dealing with a number of contracts at Northern Irish golf clubs, (previously compiled by HR advisors) that are not at all compliant with Northern Ireland employment law.

And I think that’s the lesson here: the danger of assumption.

When it comes to HR, A LOT of assumption goes on.

Clubs think they’ve got valid contracts.

They assume that the handbook is still in date.

That they can trust that member of staff.

Unfortunately, I’ve got more experience than most regarding the danger of assumption – when it comes to HR, it can be a business killer.