What is an equal pay claim ?

Employers are under an obligation to treat men and women equally under the terms and conditions of their employment contract if;

• They do ‘like work’. This is work that is the same or broadly similar.
• They do work that is rated as equivalent under a job evaluation study.
• They work they do is found to be of equal value in terms of effort, skill or decision-making.

Employees can compare any of their employment contract terms, with what is deemed to be a comparator.

A comparator is an employee of the opposite sex who works for the same employer, doing the same or like work, or work deemed to be of equal value.

An employer may however be able to defend paying workers differently if they show the reason for the pay difference is based on a genuine factor and is not related to the sex of the employee.

Employees have the right to know how their pay is made up, such as how much is bonus pay and how this is calculated if there is a bonus system.

Employers cannot prevent employees from having discussions about differences in pay – this is enshrined in the Equality Act 2010. Employer can however require employees to keep their pay rates confidential from people outside the workplace.

What does ‘equal terms’ cover? 

Working on equal terms covers all aspects of pay and benefits, including:

• basic pay
• rates of overtime 
• performance related benefits
• working hours
• access to pension schemes
• entitlements to annual leave
• any non-monetary benefits

What can I do if I think I am being paid unequally?

Where an employee believes they are not receiving equal pay, they can write to their employer to request information that will help them establish if there is a pay difference and what the reason for this difference is.

It may be that the employee is able to resolve this issue with their employer informally or through the workplace formal grievance procedure. If they are unable to do so, they may make a complaint to an employment tribunal under the Equality Act 2010, whilst still in their position or up to six months after leaving the employment relating to the claim.

Employers who lose equal pay claims can now be forced to conduct an equal pay audit and publish the results.

Contact Us – Equal Pay Glasgow

If you are an employee or employer looking for advice about equal pay, or any other employment law matter, Employment Law Glasgow's specialist lawyers can help. To get in touch, please complete our online enquiry form.