Case law

Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003

On 1 December, the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 come into force, making it unlawful for employers and some other bodies to discriminate against, or harass, a person on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The regulations cover discrimination in the field of employment and vocational training.

Protection is given to job applicants and to those already in employment.

Sexual orientation is defined as meaning 'a sexual orientation towards persons of the same sex; persons of the opposite sex; or persons of the same sex and of the opposite sex'.There is no protection in relation to discrimination relating to sexual practices or fetishes.

Equal opportunities policies should be amended to ensure compliance with the law.

Equality and diversity

The government is to implement the age strand of council directive 2000/78/EC from October 2006.Special focus will be given to the proposal to set a default age for retirement of 70 at or after which employers could require employees to retire without having to justify their decision.Otherwise, retirement ages that employers set for employees will be unlawful.

Views are being sought on whether the legislation should provide for employers, exceptionally, to be able to justify mandatory retirement ages.