As specified in the UK legislation by the Equal Pay Act of 1970, amended by the Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983, the principle that provides for equal pay between women and men in the same employment by giving a woman the right to equal pay in her contract of employment where she is employed on like work to that of a man, or work rated equivalent to that of a man, or work of equal value to that of a man; similar legal requirements are in place in many other countries. More generally, a principle that the pay for given work should be independent of the sex, race, religion, age, or other personal characteristics of the worker.