- sex discrimination
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sex discrimination n: discrimination based on sex and esp. against women
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- sex discrimination
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in the employment law of the UK, a body of rules designed to prevent and remedy discrimination on the basis of a person's sex. An equality clause is incorporated by law in every contract of employment by the Equal Pay Act 1970. It is even included in contracts for services. The equality clause has the effect in the contract of stating that men and women are employed on like work or employed on work rated as equivalent, the terms and conditions of employment will not be more favourable for one sex as against the other in any relevant respect.Like work is work of a broadly similar nature. An employee may claim his or her work is of equal value and such a question may be remitted to an independent assessor. The value of the job on the employment market cannot determine matters, for the purpose of the legislation is to change the market: Rainey v . Greater Glasgow Health Board, 1987 SLT 146. A party can take the matter to an employment tribunal (employment tribunals) or, if it is not reasonably to be expected that a person will raise the matter, the Secretary of State can lay the matter before a tribunal. A complainant must have been working for six months before the proceedings.The Sex Discrimination Act 1972, 1986 along with Article 119 of the European Economic Community Treaty, provides a range of control over discrimination based on sex. Direct discrimination, treating a member of one sex better than another, is restrained but so too is indirect discrimination through some gender-based criterion. The Act also applies to protect married persons. An indirect case is that a criterion is set whereby the proportion of the people who can apply differs between the sexes: Pearce v. City of Bradford [1988] IRLR 379. Justification is possible. The Act controls discrimination in selection for employment and promotion within employment. A person's sex may be a genuine occupational qualification, as where a producer is casting the role of Desdemona. There are other exceptions, including national security. Sexual harassment has been described as a form of sex discrimination: Porcelli v. SRC [1986] CR 564. An Equal Opportunities Commission has responsibility for monitoring the Act and can issue non-discrimination notices and support litigants by way of test cases.The European law may subvert UK measures where they fail to meet European requirements.
Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001.
- sex discrimination
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Discrimination on the basis of gender.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
- sex discrimination
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Discrimination on the basis of gender.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
