Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Equality, diversity and inclusionLatest NewsEqual pay

Equal pay rulings ease path for thousands of public sector claims

by John Charlton 8 Apr 2009
by John Charlton 8 Apr 2009

Thousands of female public sector employees have a greater chance of succeeding in equal pay claims following recent key legal rulings – one of which prompted a council to set aside about £40m to fund settlements.

In Joss v Cumbria County Council, the Court of Appeal rejected the council’s argument that because it required the female claimants to sign new contracts incorporating changes to their working conditions, they were new employees. This would have meant the women, mainly low-paid staff working as carers, kitchen hands and cleaners, were not entitled to full back pay on their claims – set at up to six years before the date of the claim.

Following the ruling, Cumbria Council said it is “in constructive talks with trade unions in a bid to settle equal pay claims”.

The council will offer a total of £40m to deal with outstanding claims, which, according to union Unison, affect about 5,000 female staff.

Council leader Stewart Young said: “It is in nobody’s interest for these cases to drag on through the employment tribunals. Low-paid workers need the certainty of cash in their pockets now, not the possibility of a pay-out more than one year away.”

In two other equal pay cases heard this week – Hurst v Suffolk Mental Health Trust and Arnold and others v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council – the Court of Appeal ruled that there was no requirement to specify male comparators when filing an equal pay grievance. Some 5,000 equal pay claims are affected by the Hurst ruling and 2,000 by Arnold.

Bronwyn McKenna, director of organising and membership at Unison, said: “I am very pleased that commonsense has prevailed. These employers were trying to deliver a knockout blow to the women’s genuine equal pay claims by concocting this get-out clause.

“It would seem glaringly obvious to all that it would be nearly impossible for women just starting their battle for equal pay to name their male comparator.”

She added that it would be the taxpayer who would bear the cost of the cases.

Commenting on these cases, Lisa Mayhew, employment partner at Jones Day, said: “The Court of Appeal’s decision has major implications for all employers, not just the public sector. It means that all that a woman has to say at the point of starting the grievance process is that she believes that she has been underpaid by reason of her sex without naming an actual male comparator.”

Bob Fahy, solicitor at Matthew Arnold & Baldwin, added: “The Court of Appeal appears to have been swayed in particular by the draconian consequences of finding that a letter which did not identify a comparator in an equal pay claims would not count as a statutory grievance. If the court had reached that conclusion, the 7,000 individuals whose grievance letters are affected by this judgment would be likely to have their equal pay claims barred as a result.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Meanwhile, another roadblock to NHS equal pay implementation through Agenda for Change (AfC) was removed when the Newcastle Employment Tribunal ruled last week, in Hartley v Northumbria Healthcare, that AfC did not breach anti-discrimination legislation.

The test case was presented by no-win no-fee lawyer Stefan Cross, who is said to believe that AfC is inherently sexist as thousands of male NHS staff were placed in higher pay bands during an initial AfC job evaluation process.

John Charlton

previous post
Met Police chief backs officer conduct investigation after G20 death
next post
Army recruitment push goes online with ‘action-packed’ wargame

You may also like

Fire and rehire: the relocation question

22 May 2025

Public sector workers gain pay rises of up...

22 May 2025

UK net migration slashed by half in one...

22 May 2025

How neuroscience can unlock employee recognition

22 May 2025

UK universities fret over fall in international students

22 May 2025

HSBC employees warned of office attendance link to...

22 May 2025

The Law Society: Navigating the new world of...

22 May 2025

Workplace stress: Why it’s time to rebrand resilience

22 May 2025

Restaurant tips should be included in holiday pay

21 May 2025

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate

21 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+