THE NORTH’S Employment Minister has sounded a warning to Northern Ireland employers not to discriminate actively in favour of local people when it comes to recruiting new staff.

Sir Reg Empey said businesses in the North were obliged to comply with all employment rights legislation – regardless of their own personal views on the issue.

His warning puts him at loggerheads with his ministerial colleague Sammy Wilson who last month came out in favour of employing Northern Ireland people over other nationalities.

Mr Wilson, the North’s Environment Minister, said he believed it made sense for local firms to employ local people in the current economic downturn.

Mr Wilson has stressed that he does not believe someone from the North should necessarily get a job over a candidate from another country who might be better qualified.

But he also believes that if a company is considering two candidates for a job and one is from outside the North it should employ the local applicant.

Sir Reg said employers should be aware there is an existing and comprehensive framework of legislation governing employment and recruitment practices in Northern Ireland.

The Employment Minister added: “Much has been made of the phrase ‘British jobs for British workers’ implying that local people should have priority for jobs over those from other EU countries or those legitimately in the UK workforce.

“This is not possible, nor is this necessarily desirable. Migrants who are legally entitled to work here have the same employment rights as local workers.”

Sir Reg said he wanted to highlight the fact that thousands of workers from the North had jobs and contracts in other parts of the European Union and would be adversely affected if similar approaches to employment were adopted.

Key employer organisations in the North have dismissed suggestions that firms should only employ local people.

They say businesses operate on a policy of choosing the most suitable and best qualified person for the job – regardless of their nationality – particularly in the current economic downturn.