Changing Rules, Enduring Structures

Abstract

EC Directive 79/7' requires Member States to implement equal treatment between men and women in social security. It was adopted in 1978 and came into force in December 1984. The United Kingdom (UK) Government acted promptly to implement its provisions. Even before it was adopted, the Government requested a departmental team to investigate how it should be implemented. Most of the legislation the Government considered necessary to comply with the Directive was put in place in 1980. This was given effect by subordinate legislation in 1983. The Goverment's timing was therefore exemplary. Arguably, however, effective compliance requires more than punctuality and procedural propriety. It also requires certain standards to be achieved in the way a directive is implemented. This paper therefore looks at the way Directive 79/7 was implemented in order to assess whether quality of implementation was achieved. It concludes that the UK Government's performance was not quite so exemplary in this respect.