• CONVEYANCING
• EMPLOYMENT LAW
• EQUAL PAY

• FAMILY ISSUES

How does the Equal Pay Act Work?

Firstly, a woman who does "like work" to a man is entitled to the same pay. Namely, a female cook, cleaner, care assistant or nurse is entitled to the same pay as a male cook, cleaner, care assistant or nurse.

Secondly, this principle extends to "work of equal value". This is much wider than "like work". Namely, a woman who does an entirely different job to a man is entitled to same pay if, measured against criteria like skill and effort, her job is equal to his. So, a female cook, cleaner, care assistant or nurse may be of equal value to that of a bricklayer.

Thirdly, from time to time employers carry out "job evaluation schemes" whereby they evaluate the various jobs performed by their employees and how much they are paid. A woman whose job who has been "rated as equivalent" to a man's is (unsurprisingly) entitled to the same pay. So, a female cook whose job is ranked as Grade D (or whatever) is entitled to the same pay as a bricklayer ranked as Grade D.

The woman must be able to point to an actual man ("the comparator") who works or worked for the same employer.

The woman, if she wins her case, is entitled to the difference between her pay and the man's going back up to 6 years from the date of her complaint.

The woman, if her job has ended, must complain to an Employment Tribunal within 6 months (eg. if she leaves on the 15th February she must complain by the 14th August). Only in limited circumstances can this deadline be extended.

Further, the woman's claim can go back 6 years and no more (it used to be 2!). For this reason, if you have worked for more than 6 years, you should act now. Each day that goes by you are literally losing money.

The employer has a potential defence called the "genuine material factor" defence. Namely, the employer may admit the woman did like work to the better paid man but claim there was good reason for the pay difference, such as a man was more productive, required less supervision and was genuinely better at his job. It is for the employer to prove this.

The above law applies to male claimants as much as it does to women.

The above is intended as a brief, easy to read summary and not a definitive statement of the law.