Definition of a 'Good Job' outlined by Economy Minister Conor Murphy

Minister for the Economy Conor Murphy MLA has announced the framework by which a ‘Good Job’ will be defined. Minister Murphy had previously stated his desire to create Good Jobs as part of four key priorities of his Economic Vision for Northern Ireland whilst in office as Economy Minister.

At the Labour Relations Agency’s ‘Building a Business Case for Good Jobs’ seminar on Tuesday June 18th, Murphy outlined how the Department for the Economy (DfE) is adopting the Carnegie Framework as its definition of Good Jobs.

The framework identifies 7 key dimensions of job quality:

  • terms of employment

  • pay and benefits

  • health, safety and psychological wellbeing

  • job design and nature of work

  • social support and cohesion

  • voice and representation

  • work/life balance

The Minister stated that his Department will work to progress all 7 dimensions of this “extremely comprehensive definition”. A consultation is also expected to be launched in the coming weeks on the legislation required to create Good Jobs.

Minister Murphy’s definition was referenced during a session of the Committee for the Economy this week, where Dr Lisa Wilson of the Nevin Economic Research Institute gave evidence to and took questions from committee members on Good Jobs.