Employers cautioned as Supreme Court rules in favour of Unison

251 women employed by Dumfries and Galloway Council are one step closer to winning compensation from the Council in an equal pay claim being brought on their behalf by the local authority workers’ union, Unison.

It is argued that the women who are employed as classroom assistants and nursery nurses are entitled to compensation because of bonuses that were paid to those working in male-dominated positions but not to those in female-dominated positions. The two groups are employed on the basis of two different sets of conditions with only the set governing the male-dominated roles allowing for the payment of bonuses.

In 2008 an employment tribunal held that the male workers, in positions such as those of groundsmen, road maintenance workers and refuse collectors, could be considered comparators in support of the women’s claim against the council. However, this decision was overturned by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in 2011 which held there was no ‘real possibility’ of the male workers doing their roles in the same establishments as the women. Scotland’s Court of Session also supported the Council, hence the appeal to the Supreme Court.

In this latest round of the legal battle between Council and Union the Supreme Court held that working in different locations for the same employer should not be a barrier to equal treatment and that another worker presented as a comparator in an equal pay claim cannot be dismissed as a comparator for the simple fact that they work in a different establishment. The decision allows the women to return to an employment tribunal which will then decide if the work carried out by the women is of equal value to that carried out by those in the male-dominated positions.

Whilst this case concerns a Scottish Council the Supreme Court’s decision will have a relevance in similar cases within England and Wales. The ruling significantly increases the number of comparators an employee making an equal pay claim against their employer can reference and use to support their case. This is likely to result in an increase in the number of equal pay claims being filed with and heard by employment tribunals.

As a result, employers of all sizes are urged to ensure they are complying with legislation governing the equal treatment of employees, including relating to issues such as pay, holiday, working conditions, recruitment and discipline procedures.

Holmes & Hills offers employment Law advice to employers and employees across Essex and Suffolk from five office locations. In addition to Holmes & Hills Solicitors in Sudbury, the firm has offices in Halstead, Braintree, Tiptree and Coggeshall.