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Section 9: . . . contract workers.

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 · 1975 c. 65View on legislation.gov.uk

This provision is repealed
It is retained for historical reference and may not reflect the law currently in force.

Part II: EMPLOYMENT FIELD

REPEALED on 2010-10-01 by Equality Act 2010.

The text below is from the dated revised snapshot immediately preceding this status change. It is historical and is not current law. View the historical source.

This section applies to any work at an establishment in Great Britain, for a person (“the principal”) which is available for doing by individuals (“contract workers”) who are employed not by the principal himself but by another person, who supplies them under a contract made with the principal.

It is unlawful for the principal, in relation to work to which this section applies, to discriminate against a woman who is a contract worker—

in the terms on which he allows her to do that work, or
by not allowing her to do it or continue to do it, or
in the way he affords her access to any benefits, facilities or services or by refusing or deliberately omitting to afford her access to them, or
by subjecting her to any other detriment.

It is unlawful for a principal, in relation to contract work at an establishment in Great Britain, to subject a contract worker to harassment.

Subject to subsection (3A),The principal does not contravene subsection (2)(b) by doing any act in relation to a woman at a time when if the work were to be done by a person taken into his employment being a man would be a genuine occupational qualification for the job.

Subsection (3) does not apply in relation to discrimination falling within section 2A.

In relation to discrimination falling within section 2A, the principal does not contravene subsection (2)(a), (b), (c) or (d) by doing any act in relation to a woman if—

he does it at a time when, if the work were to be done by a person taken into his employment—
being a man would be a genuine occupational qualification for the job, or
being a woman would be a genuine occupational qualification for the job, and
he can show that the act is reasonable in view of the circumstances relevant for the purposes of paragraph (a) and any other relevant circumstances.

In relation to discrimination falling within section 2A, the principal does not contravene subsection (2)(b) by doing any act in relation to a woman at a time when, if the work were to be done by a person taken into his employment, there would be a supplementary genuine occupational qualification for the job.

Subsections (3B) and (3C) do not apply in relation to discrimination against a person whose gender has become the acquired gender under the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Subsection (2)(c) does not apply to benefits, facilities or services of any description if the principal is concerned with the provision (for payment or not) of benefits, facilities or services of that description to the public, or to a section of the public to which the woman belongs, unless that provision differs in a material respect from the provision of the benefits, facilities or services by the principal to his contract workers.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.