Sex Discrimination Legislation

Outcome of Judicial Review on Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), a legacy commission to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, brought judicial review proceedings against the Government in relation to some of the provisions of the Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 which amended the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to implement the Equal Treatment (Amendment) Directive. The judicial review was heard on 27-28 February 2007. The judgment of the Court handed down on 12 March requires us to make some amendments to provisions in these Regulations on pregnancy and maternity leave discrimination and harassment.

Click here for the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2008 that will make these changes to the Sex Discrimination Act. They have been laid before Parliament and will come into effect on 6 April 2008. You will note that the changes that the Government is required to make to the exception in the Sex Discrimination Act relating to terms and conditions during maternity leave will apply to employees whose expected week of childbirth begins on or after 5 October 2008. This will provide time for business to prepare for these changes.

As a consequence of these changes, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will be making amendments to the Maternity and Parental Leave etc Regulations 1999 and expects to bring these into force in October this year, also applying to employees with an Expected Week of Childbirth beginning on or after 5 October 2008.

Click here for further information about the changes to harassment and here for the changes relating to pregnancy and maternity leave discrimination.

Implementing the Gender Directive – 2004/113/EC

Directive 2004/113/EC implements the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services.

The Directive prohibits sex discrimination in goods and services. This includes:

• Discrimination against men and women
• Discrimination against transsexual people (on grounds of gender reassignment)
• Discrimination for reasons of pregnancy and maternity

The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 already applies to the provision of goods, facilities and services. The amendments necessary to implement the Directive are few. The main changes we have made are as follows:

• Extension of protection from discrimination on grounds of gender reassignment to the provision of goods, facilities, services and premises.
• Making it explicit that sexual harassment, sex harassment and gender reassignment harassment in access to and the provision of goods, facilities, services or premises are unlawful.
• Making it explicit that less favourable treatment on the ground of a women's pregnancy or maternity in the provision of goods and services is unlawful.
• In relation to financial and insurance products, making it clear that where there are proportionate differences in an individual’s premiums and benefits as a result of sex being a determinant factor in risk assessment, then these differences must be based on relevant and accurate data, and this data must be compiled, published and regularly updated.

Public consultation on the proposed amendments ended 4 September 2007.  Click here for the 'A Framework for Fairness: Proposals for a Single Equality Bill for Great Britain.  (Annex B sets out the proposals to implement the Gender Directive).  The Government will implement the Directive by regulations under the European Communities Act 1972.

Click here for the Sex Discrimination (Amendment of Legislation) Regulations 2008, which came into force on 6th April 2008 and amended both the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976. 

The Government Equalities Office has produced a fact sheet providing more detail on the changes introduced by the regulations, which can be accessed by clicking here.

Sex Discrimination Legislation Archive

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