Women who suffer sex discrimination at work will have a better chance of redress from Friday when new rules come into force.

Instead, the burden of proof will shift to employers who will have to prove that that they did not discriminate against the worker.

The change is contained in the Sex Discrimination (Indirect Discrimination and Burden of Proof) Regulations 2001 and will have severe repercussions for employers.

Employers' dilemma

Although women will still have to present a "prima facie" case at an employment tribunal, the employer must now prove that he did not commit sex discrimination.

Meriel Schindler, head of employment at Withers, a City law firm, said that the shift will make it easier for applicants to win sex discrimination cases and, as a consequence, employers were likely to settle more cases out of court at an earlier stage.

"Employers may see themselves between a rock and a hard place: say nothing and lose the case or deny discrimination or offer up evidence of their own management incompetence in the hope of winning the case," Ms Schindler said.