SEX DISCRIMINATION IN THE CITY (AND ELSEWHERE)

1 October 2005 saw the introduction of The Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 which have made several important changes to the Sex Discrimination Act (“SDA”) 1975 and the Equal Pay Act 1970 in the fields of employment law, vocational training and partnerships.

The main changes are outlined in this edition of Employment Matters.

Indirect Discrimination

In simple terms, indirect discrimination occurs when an employer imposes a provision, criterion or practice (which on the surface may look entirely neutral) that adversely affects one sex more than the other. For example, a requirement that all employees must be at least six feet tall would be indirect discrimination as fewer women than men are that tall. However, the employer would have a defence if he could establish that the requirement was nevertheless justified.

The new rules introduce a new definition of ‘indirect sex discrimination’ which states that a person will discriminate against a woman if “…he applies to her a provision, criterion or practice which he applies equally to a man but:

• which puts or would put women at a particular disadvantage when compared with men;
• which puts her at that disadvantage; and
• which he cannot show to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.”

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