Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
1996 No. 465

SEX DISCRIMINATION
Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Made
3rd October 1996

Coming into operation
3rd November 1996

The Department of Economic Development, being a Department designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972(1) in relation to measures relating to equal pay for men and women and to equal treatment for men and women in matters of employment, self-employment and vocational training(2), in exercise of the powers conferred by that section, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 3rd November 1996.

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(3) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Amendment of the Equal Pay Act (Northern Ireland) 1970

2.—(1) Section 2A of the Equal Pay Act (Northern Ireland) 1970(4) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1), for the words from “shall not determine” to the end there is substituted—

“may either—

(a)proceed to determine that question; or

(b)unless it is satisfied that there are no reasonable grounds for determining that the work is of equal value as so mentioned, require a member of the panel of independent experts to prepare a report with respect to that question;

and, if it requires the preparation of a report under paragraph (b), it shall not determine that question unless it has received the report.”.

(3) In subsection (2) the words “paragraph (a) of” are omitted, and for the words “that paragraph” there is substituted “that subsection”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Economic Development on 3rd October 1996.

L.S.
W. D. A. Haire
Assistant Secretary

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
These Regulations make changes to the powers of industrial tribunals in certain cases under the Equal Pay Act (Northern Ireland) 1970. They improve the provisions implementing Council Directive 75/117/EEC(5), which provides among other matters for claims to equal pay for work of equal value. They alter the procedure for such claims, so that an industrial tribunal considering such a claim will no longer be obliged to refer the question of equal value to an independent expert, and will have no power to do so where it is satisfied that there are no reasonable grounds for determining that the work in question is of equal value.


(1)
1972 c. 68

(2)
The European Communities (Designation) (No. 3) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/2661)

(3)
1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

(4)
1970 c. 32 (N.I.); section 2A was inserted by regulation 3(1) of the Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 (S.R. 1984 No. 16)

(5)
O.J. No. L45, 19.2.75, p. 19