The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 were

secondary legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democra ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, which prohibited employers unreasonably discriminating against employees on grounds of sexual orientation, perceived sexual orientation, religion or belief and age. These Regulations have now been superseded by the

Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis of anti-d ...

Outline

The regulations were brought into force under the terms of the European Communities Act 1972 as they were intended to implement within the United Kingdom the provisions of the EU Equal Treatment Directive covering discrimination on the grounds mentioned in the

Amsterdam Treaty The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

(disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age - with race and sex discrimination dealt with in other Directives - See EU Anti-Discrimination Directive). The regulations, as implemented in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

covered the following areas: *Direct *Indirect *

victimisation Victimisation ( or victimization) is the process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology. Peer victimisation Peer victimisati ...

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...

They included employment, vocational training, professional organisations and trade unions. Cases were heard by an

employment tribunal Employment tribunals are tribunal public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, red ...

or at the

County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

or a sheriff court. The Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 were introduced as an amendment to The

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (c. 65) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status. The Act concerned employment, training, education, harassment, ...

, allowing employment protection for people who had undergone or were proposing to undergo

gender reassignment Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures us ...

Cases

Cleanaway {{Infobox company , name = , logo = Cleanaway logo.png , type = , traded_as = {{{ASX, CWY , fate = , successor = , founded = 1979 , founder = Brambles , defunct ...

was the first company ordered to pay compensation to a worker under the regulations, after a gay manager quit following persistent harassment from his seniors because of his sexuality. The case received widespread media attention, with the victim commenting that prior to the case he had tried to keep his sexuality a private matter. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described it as a landmark judgement, while a

Stonewall Stonewall or Stone wall may refer to: * Stone wall, a kind of masonry construction * Stonewalling, engaging in uncooperative or delaying tactics * Stonewall riots, a 1969 turning point for the modern LGBTQ rights movement in Greenwich Village, Ne ...

spokesperson said the ruling showed such abuse "was no longer going to be tolerated" and compared the remarks directed at the victim to "jokes about ' Pakis'" from previous decades. As well as the regulations there has been a succession of case law defining the phrase 'on grounds of sexual orientation' in Regulation 5. One example decided in 2008 by the Court of Appeal was ''English v Thomas Sanderson Blinds Ltd 2008''. Previously, protection had been extended so to as incorporate those perceived to be homosexual or bisexual, as well as through an association with homosexual or bisexual persons. However, the facts in English were that Mr. English was not gay, was not perceived to be gay by his tormentors, but was still treated as though he was. The tormentors in this case in fact knew that Mr. English was straight with children. The court found this was still sufficient connection to satisfy being 'on ground of sexual orientation' for Mr. English to be afforded protection under Regulation 5 of the Act.{{Cite journal , date=2016-10-20 , title="Tell Me Where I Can Be Safe": The Impact of Nigeria's Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act , url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/10/20/tell-me-where-i-can-be-safe/impact-nigerias-same-sex-marriage-prohibition-act , language=en

References

Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999Text of EU Directive 2000/78/EC

External links

"The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006"

Women and Equality Unit, UK Government Anti-discrimination law in the United Kingdom United Kingdom labour law LGBT law in the United Kingdom 2003 in LGBT history 2003 in British law Statutory Instruments of the United Kingdom 2003 in labor relations

Outline

Cases

See also

References

See also

External links