Equal pay

Equal pay law is covered by the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Statutory Code of Practice on Equal Pay. These rights are set out in the Equality Act 2010, men and women in the same employment performing equal work must receive equal pay unless any difference in pay can be justified by the employer.

 

The right to equal pay is enshrined in law, men and women must get equal pay for doing ‘equal work’. Equal pay is not just about gender, by law, employers must not pay an employee less, or give them terms and conditions that put them at a disadvantage, because of their disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or any 'protected characteristic'.

 

Equal pay law applies to payment terms and conditions of employment, including:

• Basic salary/wages;
• Access to Pension Schemes;
• Working hours;
• Annual leave allowance;
• Holiday, Overtime, Severance, Redundancy or Sick pay;
• Performance-related pay, e.g., a bonus that’s in the employment contract;
• Non-discretionary bonuses; or
• Benefits, e.g., a gym membership or company car.

 

Who has a right to Equal Pay?

The right to equal pay applies to many different work arrangements, including employees, apprentices, agency workers and even self-employed workers who are hired to personally do the work, (this last one sounds odd but some unscrupulous employers class people who are technically employees as “self-employed” to pay under minimum wage and avoid holiday, sick pay, maternity pay and employers liability taxes).

 

Equal Pay for Equal Work

Some jobs can be classed as equal work, even if the roles seem very different, for example a clerical job and a warehouse job might be classed as equal work. There are three kinds of equal work defined by law:

• Like work - is the same work or broadly similar. It involves similar tasks which require similar knowledge and skills.
• Work rated as equivalent – this is work rated under a valid job evaluation scheme as being of equal value in terms of how demanding it is. This could be because the level of skill, effort and responsibility needed to do the work are equivalent.
• Work of equal value – Work not of similar nature and not been rated as equivalent, but is of equal value in terms of demands such as effort, skill and decision making.

 

Justifying pay differences

There is a legal presumption that any difference in pay because of their sex is illegal, however, there are times when different pay rates may differ. Here the employer has to be able to demonstrate what is called a ‘material factor’ explains the difference. A material factor might allow a difference in pay and other contractual terms and conditions.

 

A material factor must:

• Be a genuine reason for the difference in pay.
• Cause the difference in pay.
• Be significant and relevant.
• Be able to show how each factor was amassed and how it applies to the specific case.
• Not be tainted by direct or indirect discrimination.

 

For example, they may: -

• Have better qualifications/experience;
• Are better able to do unsociable hours as part of their shift;
• Have extra responsibilities; or
• They may receive an increase to cover additional living costs, such as living in London.

 

A note on Gender Pay Gap Reporting:

Equal pay and gender pay gap reporting are not the same thing. A gender pay gap is an average difference in pay between men and women, for example across an organisation. Employers with 250 or more employees must publish figures about their gender pay gap.

 

How we can help

We would be delighted to act on your behalf to investigate whether there is a situation where there is discrimination because of your sex, To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.

 

Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.