1. These Regulations may be cited as the Equal Pay (Complaints to Industrial Tribunals) (Armed Forces) Regulations 1997 and shall come into force on 1st October 1997.

2.-(1) A person may present a complaint to an industrial tribunal under section 7A of the Equal Pay Act 1970, notwithstanding that subsection (5) of that section would otherwise preclude the presentation of such a complaint, in any case to which paragraph (2) or (4) below applies.

(2) This paragraph applies where-

(a)the person has made a complaint in respect of the same matter to an officer under the service redress procedures; and

(b)that complaint has not been withdrawn.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b) above, a person shall be treated as having withdrawn his complaint if, having made a complaint to an officer under the service redress procedures, he fails to submit that complaint to the Defence Council under those procedures.

(4) This paragraph applies where the complaint concerns a claim in respect of the contravention of a term of service relating to membership of, or rights under, any relevant scheme.

(5) In this regulation-

• "occupational pension scheme" has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Pensions Schemes Act 1993(2); and

• "relevant scheme" means-

  (a)

  any occupational pension scheme made under section 3 of the Naval and Marine Pay and Pensions Act 1865(3);

  (b)

  the Army Pensions Warrant 1977; or

  (c)

  any occupational pension scheme made under section 2 of the Air Force (Constitution) Act 1917(4).

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which come into force on 1st October 1997, specify the circumstances in which a person may present a complaint to an industrial tribunal in respect of his service in the armed forces, notwithstanding that he would otherwise be precluded from making such a complaint by section 7A(5) of the Equal Pay Act 1970 (which requires a person to go through the service redress procedures before making a complaint to an industrial tribunal).