These Regulations make changes to the powers of industrial tribunals in certain cases under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Equal Pay Act 1970. Regulations 1 and 2 come into force on 25th March 1996; regulation 3 comes into force on 31st July 1996.

Regulation 2 extends the remedies available for sex discrimination, pursuant to Council Directive 1976/207/EEC5. It enables an industrial tribunal to award compensation to a person who has suffered indirect discrimination under Part II of the 1975 Act, even where the respondent did not intend to treat the claimant unfavourably on the ground of his sex or marital status, where it would not be just and equitable to grant other remedies alone.

Regulation 3 improves the provisions implementing Council Directive 1975/117/EEC6, which provides among other matters for claims to equal pay for work of equal value. The regulation alters 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.