2. Introduction
Title Equal Pay Act 1970 requires that men and
women be paid the same amount of money for the
same amount of work, when in the same
establishment.
According to this act, the jobs do not need to be
identical, but substantially equivalent to each other.
This Act also prevents employers from
compensating differently on the basis of sex.
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3. Reasons for unequal pay
Rubery (1992) suggested that the undervaluation
of women’s employment is caused by three
interrelated factors:
1) Gender discrimination in the ways in which
jobs are graded and paid.
2) Widespread occupational segregation by
gender
3) Differences in the labour supply and labour
market conditions that allow the differences to
be perpetuated.
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4. Human capital differences
Part-time working
Occupational segregation
Workplace segregation
Travel patterns
Other factors that affect the gender pay gap include: job
grading practices, appraisal systems,
reward systems, retention measures, career breaks, poor
union representation and wage setting practices.
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5. The equal pay legal framework
The legislation essentially provides that pay
differences are allowable only if the reason for
them is not related to the sex of the job holder.
The equal pay legislation is concerned with the
conduct of equal pay reviews designed to identify
any aspects of discrimination related to race,
religion, disability or age that results in pay
inequities.
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6. • European legislation : Men and women should
receive equal pay for work of equal value. Job
classification systems (which is Euro-English for any
formal grading systems and thus encompasses job
evaluation schemes) should be fair and non-
discriminatory.
• The Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983:
• Under this equal value amendment women are
entitled to the same pay as men (and vice versa) where
the work is of equal value ‘in terms of the demands
made on a worker under various headings, for
instance, effort, skill, decision’.
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7. Employment Act 2002
A statement of why the individual (the complainant)
thinks they are not receiving equal pay, followed by a
statement of who they believe the comparators are.
Factual questions to ascertain whether the complainant is
receiving less pay than the comparator and, if so, the
reason why.
A question asking whether the employer (the respondent)
agrees or disagrees (with reasons) that the complainant is
being paid less than the comparator.
A question asking whether the employer agrees or
disagrees (with reasons) that the complainant and the
comparator are doing equal work.
Space for the complainant’s own questions.
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8. Code of Practice on Equal Pay
This code was produced by the Equal
Opportunities Commission in 2003.
It is not legally binding but employment
tribunals may take into account an employer’s
failure to act on its provisions.
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9. Equal pay claims
• where the work is like work, meaning the same or very
similar work;
Claim
• where the work is rated as equivalent under a job
evaluation ‘study’;
Claim
• where the work is of equal value ‘in terms of the
demands made on a worker under various headings,
Claim for instance, effort, skill, decision’.
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10. Achieving equal pay
Use an analytical job evaluation scheme that is free of bias
Ensure that discrimination or bias does not occur in operating the job
evaluation scheme
Design a grade and pay structure that is free of bias.
Ensure that the processes used for grading jobs in the structure are free of
bias.
Check the policy and practice on positioning employees within a pay range in
a graded pay structure
Review policy and practice on upgradings and promotions to ensure that
discrimination is not taking place, for example between white and Asian
employees.
Ensure that line managers are aware of their responsibility for avoiding pay
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11. Equal pay review
The purpose of an equal pay review is to:
1) Establish whether any gender-related pay
inequities have arisen;
2) Analyze the nature of any inequities and
diagnose the cause or causes;
3) Determine what action is required to deal with
any inequities that are revealed.
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12. Three main stages to an equal
pay review are:
Analysis: the collection and
analysis of relevant data to
identify any gender gaps. of
Diagnosis: the process
reviewing gender gaps,
understanding why they have
occurred and what remedial
action might be required if the
differences can not be
objectively justified and enacting
Action: agreeing
an action plan that eliminates
any inequalities.
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13. Defending an equal pay claim
The three most common grounds for defending
a claim are:
1) Proving that the work is not equal, and
2) That even if they are equal, there is a genuine
material factor that justifies the difference in pay
as long as the justification is objective.
3) Independent expert
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14. Objective justification has to
demonstrate that:
The purpose of the provision or practice is to
meet a real business need.
The provision or practice is appropriate and
necessary as a means of meeting that need.
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15. Independent experts
If there is any doubt as to whether or not work is of equal value,
employment tribunals will require an independent expert to prepare a
report.
evaluate the jobs concerned analytically;
take account of all information supplied and
representations that have a bearing on the question;
before reporting, send the parties a written summary of
the information and invite representations;
include the representations in the report, together with
the conclusion reached on the case and the reason for
that conclusion;
take no account of the difference in sex, and at all
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