Equal pay: Evaluation study should be capable of impartial application

Although to date the EAT has not dealt with many cases under the job evaluation provisions of s.1(2)(b) and s.1(5) of the Equal Pay Act, and thus there is little guidance on the issues involved, the recent case of Eaton Ltd v Nuttall throws some useful light on this area. First, in this case, the Appeal Tribunal held, in obiter, that if a woman is employed on work rated as equivalent with that of a man, her claim will proceed under s.1(2)(b) and not under the like work provisions of s.1(2)(a).