EQUAL
PAY!
DO YOU HAVE A CLAIM?
As you are all
aware our Employers have introduced a new Pay and Grading Structure
which they applied from 3rd March 2008.
Where you have been placed on this new Structure is determined by
the outcome of the Job Evaluation exercise.
There are now 12 pay grades within the Councils’
Pay structure and you will have been grouped with other employees
who may have been previously either graded differently from you or
graded using a different grading mechanism.
As a result of the introduction of the new pay and
grading structure it is now easier to identify comparators doing a
job rated as equivalent for Equal Pay purposes.
Under the Equal Pay Act (1970) this Authority had and
continues to have a legal obligation to eradicate inequality from
its Pay Structures and Conditions of Service, or run the risk of being
exposed at Employment Tribunal through Equal Pay claims.
The Act allows an individual or groups of individuals
to claim compensation for pay inequality based on either direct or
indirect discrimination on the grounds of gender.
The legislation surrounding Equal Pay allows any one
claim to look 5 years into the past and also 3 years into the future.
Our employer had an obligation to introduce Single
Status as far back as 1999 but has only now applied a single pay &
grading scale for all Single Status employees. This has put us in
the position where we must explore the possibility of taking out Equal
Pay claims for our members both progressively and retrospectively
in order to address inequalities.
There will be certain jobs that fall into the one of
the categories listed overleaf that may have the potential for an
Equal Pay claim to be lodged in pursuance of back money or indeed
because of continuing inequality.
If you feel your circumstances fall into one of these
categories please contact your local Shop Steward or the Branch Office
directly on 578 8058 in order for us to assess your claim.
Category
one
As a result of the job evaluation exercise being applied
you find that your job has been upgraded. If you can identify a group
of workers within your new grade who are predominantly of a different
gender to you / and that were previously paid more than you, you may
be entitled to submit a claim for that difference, backdated for five
years
Category
two
As a result of the job evaluation exercise being applied you find
yourself in the same grade as a group of workers who are predominantly
of a different gender to you / your group and that were previously
paid at a higher rate, you may be entitled to submit a claim for that
difference, backdated for five years and for any future protection
period.
As in all equal
pay claims we must be able to display a gender difference between
the claiming group or individual and their comparator.
The Next Stage
If you think that you have the potential
for submitting an Equal Pay claim you should in the first instance
make contact with your departmental steward. In the event that you
do not have a departmental steward then contact the Branch office
directly.
We will then be in a position to assess the validity of the claim
and give the best advice on how to pursue the case or otherwise. If
the decision is to pursue the case then we must exhaust the internal
Grievance Procedures before taking the case externally through the
Employment Tribunal system.
One very important aspect of Equal Pay legislation is that of a ‘time
barring issue’. All retrospective Equal Pay claims must be lodged
within 6 calendar months of any major contractual change. As we are
at present in the throws of contractual change due to the application
of the new Pay and Grading Structure we have a 6 month window to lodge
these claims, there is a risk that if we do not lodge these claims
within the required timescale the Tribunal service could deem the
claims to be time barred.
With this in mind
it is imperative that any member who thinks they may have a valid
claim contact us immediately.
Members
will no doubt have read the publicity surrounding the no-win, no-fee
lawyers who are advertising for business and offering to take out
equal pay claims.
UNISON is
also investigating the issue of equal pay but believes that the way
to address this, in the best interests of individuals and the whole
workforce, is through negotiation.
This does not mean, however, that we have ruled out litigation and
will use the grievance and tribunal route if necessary.
