The regulations were brought into force under the terms of the European Communities Act 1972 as they were intended to implement within the United Kingdom the provisions of the EU Equal Treatment Directive covering discrimination on the grounds mentioned in the Amsterdam Treaty (disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age - with race and sex discrimination dealt with in other Directives - See EU Anti-Discrimination Directive).

The regulations, as implemented in Great Britain and Northern Ireland covered the following areas: They included employment, vocational training, professional organisations and trade unions.

Cleanaway was the first company ordered to pay compensation to a worker under the regulations, after a gay manager quit following persistent harassment from his seniors because of his sexuality.

[2] The Guardian described it as a landmark judgement, while a Stonewall spokesperson said the ruling showed such abuse "was no longer going to be tolerated" and compared the remarks directed at the victim to "jokes about 'Pakis'" from previous decades.

The court found this was still sufficient connection to satisfy being 'on ground of sexual orientation' for Mr. English to be afforded protection under Regulation 5 of the Act.