{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/employment-equality-sexual-orientation-regulations-northern-ireland-2003/regulation-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/employment-equality-sexual-orientation-regulations-northern-ireland-2003/regulation-2.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2003/497",
  "legislation_title": "Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/employment-equality-sexual-orientation-regulations-northern-ireland-2003",
  "path": "regulation/2",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.\n(2) In these Regulations “sexual orientation” means a sexual orientation towards –\n(a) persons of the same sex;\n(b) persons of the opposite sex; or\n(c) persons of the same sex and of the opposite sex.\n(3) In these Regulations, references to discrimination are to any discrimination falling within regulation 3 (discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation) or 4 (discrimination by way of victimisation) and related expressions shall be construed accordingly, and references to harassment shall be construed in accordance with regulation 5 (harassment on grounds of sexual orientation).\n(4) In these Regulations –\n“act” includes a deliberate omission;\n“benefits”, except in regulation 11 (trustees and managers of occupational pension schemes), includes facilities and services;\n“the Commission” means the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland established by section 73 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998;\n“the Department” means the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister;\n“detriment” does not include harassment within the meaning of regulation 5;\nreferences to “employer”, in their application to a person at any time seeking to employ another, include a person who has no employees at that time;\n“employment” means employment under a contract of service or of apprenticeship or a contract personally to do any work, and related expressions shall be construed accordingly;\n“Minister of the Crown” includes the Treasury and the Defence Council;\n“Northern Ireland” includes such of the territorial waters of the United Kingdom as are adjacent to Northern Ireland;\n“Northern Ireland Minister” includes the First Minister and deputy First Minister acting jointly; and\n“school” has the same meaning as in the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Reg. 2 in operation at 2.12.2003, see reg. 1"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "1954 c. 33 (N.I.)"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "1998 c. 47"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "S.I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2003/497/regulation/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T02:00:16.186398+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}