ACT No. IX of 2012 AN ACT to amend the Equality for Men and Women Act, BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

I assent.

G EORGE A BELA

(L.S.)

President

28th June, 2012

ACT No. IX of 2012

AN ACT to amend the Equality for Men and Women Act,

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

The short title of this Act is the Equality for Men and

Women (Amendment) Act, 2012 and this Act shall be read and

construed as one with the quality for Equality for Men and Women

Act, hereinafter referred to as "the Act".

Article 2 of the Act shall be amended as follows

(a)

the definition of "discrimination" in subarticle (1)

thereof shall be substituted by the following

" "discrimination" means discrimination based on

sex or because of family responsibilities, sexual

orientation, age, religion or belief, racial or ethnic origin,

or gender identity and includes the treatment of a person in

a less favourable manner than another person is, has been

or would be treated on these grounds and "discriminate"

shall be construed accordingly;";

(b) immediately after the definition of "Minister" there

shall be inserted the following new definition

'' ''self-employed workers" in line with Directive

2010/41EU of the European Parliament and the Council of

7 July 2010 on the application of the principle of equal

treatment between men and women engaged in an activity

in a self-employed capacity, means all persons pursuing a

gainful activity for their own account, and the spouses of

self-employed workers not being employees or business

partners, where they habitually participate in the activities

of the self-employed worker and perform the same tasks or

ancillary tasks;";

(c)

sub-article (3) thereof shall be substituted by the

following

"(3) For the purposes of subarticle (1)

discrimination based on sex or because of family

responsibilities or sexual orientation, age, religion or

belief, racial or ethnic origin, or gender identity is

(a) the giving of less favourable treatment,

directly or indirectly, to men and women on the basis

of their sex or because of family responsibilities or

because of their sexual orientation, age, religion or

belief, racial or ethnic origin, or gender identity;

(b) treating a woman less favourably for

reasons of actual or potential pregnancy or

childbirth;

(c) treating men and women less favourably on

the basis of parenthood, family responsibility or for

some other reason related to sex and, or sexual

orientation, age, religion or belief, racial or ethnic

origin, or gender identity;

(d) any treatment based on a provision,

criterion or practice which would put persons at a

particular disadvantage compared with persons of

the other sex of the other sex or sexual orientation,

age, religion or belief, racial or ethnic origin, or

gender identity, unless that provision, criterion or

practice is appropriate and necessary and can be

justified by objective factors unrelated to sex.".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 493 of the

25th June, 2012.

M ICHAEL F RENDO

Speaker

R AYMOND S CICLUNA

Clerk to the House of Representatives

€0.36