Business & Education
The employment sex discrimination legislation applies to discrimination against officeholders. Officeholders are persons appointed to functions under governmental authority or bodies established under legislation or the equivalent charter or otherwise. In some such cases, the relationship is not one of employment. The person who undertakes a function specifically assigned, namely, the office.
There are provisions for unlawful discrimination against persons in their capacity as partners in a firm. It is unlawful to discriminate against a woman in arrangements for the purpose of determining who should be offered partnership, the terms on which they should be offered, refusing or deliberately omitting to offer the position, or where a person holds a position, the way in which they afford access to benefits, facilities, and services or by expelling her from that position or subjecting her to detriment.
The legislation applies to trade unions and admission of members with trade union membership. It is unlawful for an organisation to discriminate against a woman in terms of admission to membership and terms of membership. There were similar provisions in relation to bodies which confer authorisations or qualifications, bodies concerned in vocational training, and employment agencies to discriminate on broadly similar terms.
It is unlawful for an educational establishment to discriminate against women in terms of admissions as a pupil or the manner in which it affords access to benefits, facilities, and services. The provisions apply to grant-aided colleges, independent schools, universities, and colleges of further learning. There is a general duty on educational bodies to secure that facilities for education and ancillary benefits and services are provided without sex discrimination.
There is an exemption for single-sex establishments which admit pupils of one sex only or which would be taken to admit pupils of one sex only if they were disregarded. There are exceptions where numbers are comparatively small and comply with particular courses or teaching classes. Where pupils are boarders and non-boarders and admit boarders of one sex only, the non-discrimination provisions do not apply. Where single-sex establishments become co-educational, they may apply for a transitional exemption order authorising discriminatory admissions during a transitional period specified in the order.
It is unlawful for a person in relation to premises in Northern Ireland to discriminate on the terms on which he is prepared to dispose of and use the premises. It is unlawful to subject such premises to harassment. It is unlawful to discriminate against a person in a way that affords access to benefits and facilities or deliberately omitting to afford them or by eviction. It is unlawful to subject such a person to harassment in their occupation of premises.
It is unlawful to discriminate in relation to consent to assignment or subletting of premises. There is an exemption in relation to accommodation in domestic premises used by not more than two households. If the person or a near relative of his intends to continue to reside in the premises and there is additional accommodation shared by the occupier with others, the premises comprise two households or a maximum of six persons.
There are a number of exceptions to the provisions in relation to facilities and accommodation and discrimination in goods, facilities, and services in relation to a political party; voluntary organisations restricting membership to one sex or providing benefits, facilities, and services so restricted. There is an exception for some facilities or services.
A discriminatory practice means the application of a provision, criteria, or practice which results in discrimination that is unlawful under the Sex Discrimination Order and which would be likely to result in such an act of discrimination if the persons to whom it was applied were not all of the one sex or an application or requirement of a condition which results in discrimination or which would be likely to result in discrimination if the person to whom it was applied were not all of one sex.
A person acts in contravention of the legislation and unlawfully if he applies a discriminatory practice or operates practices or arrangements which in the circumstances would call for the application by him of a discriminatory practice. Proceedings may only be brought to the Commission.
It is unlawful to publish or cause to be published an advertisement that indicates or might reasonably be understood to indicate an intention for the purposes of an advertisement, job descriptions with sexual conditions such as waitress, salesgirl, postman, stewardess shall be taken as an intention to discriminate unless the advertisement contains a clear indication to the contrary.
The publisher of an advertisement that is unlawful is not subject to liability if they prove that the advertisement is published in reliance on a statement made to them by the person who caused it to be published to the effect that, due to the operation of the exception, the publication would not be unlawful, and it was reasonable for them to rely on the statement. The exception is that the intended act would not be unlawful. The person who knowingly or recklessly makes a statement above, which is in a material respect false or misleading to an advertising publisher, commits an offence prosecutable summarily with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
It is unlawful for a person to instruct another to discriminate where they have lawful authority over that person. It is unlawful to induce or attempt to induce a person to act in breach of legislation by offering or providing them with a benefit or subjecting them to a threat of detriment.