Section 171: Equal treatment
631.This section provides the mechanism to ensure that there is no discrimination between men and women arising from the use of the scheme rules when calculating entitlement to pension compensation or when the Board makes other payments (e.g. under section 170).
632.This section also provides that any of the Board’s payment functions which have a discriminatory effect, directly or indirectly, must be modified so that the discriminatory effect is removed.
633.Subsection (3) provides this section does not operate where any difference in treatment is genuinely due to a material factor which is not a difference in sex. Subsection (4) also enables regulations to provide that the section does not operate in prescribed circumstances.