Equality, diversity and human rights >
Equal pay
Judith Harris, legal director, James Buckley, associate, Dinu Suntook, associate, at Addleshaw Goddard detail the latest rulings.
Claire Benson, Rebekah Martin and Poppy Fildes, associates at Addleshaw Goddard, detail the latest rulings.
In Gutridge and others v Sodexo Ltd and another [2009] IRLR 721 CA, the Court of Appeal held that equal pay claims in respect of employment prior to a TUPE transfer must be brought against the transferee within six months of the transfer. The six-month time limit for claims in respect of the post-transfer period does not start to run until the claimant's employment with the transferee ends.
In Hartlepool Borough Council v Llewellyn and other appeals [2009] IRLR 796 EAT, the EAT confirmed that male employees may institute contingent claims relying on female comparators who have instituted equal pay claims citing other more highly paid male colleagues. The male employees may be awarded arrears of pay for the same period as their comparators.
Twenty-eight years after its birth, TUPE still raises thorny questions. Its complexity is evidenced by the number of groundbreaking tribunal cases which have come to the fore recently, many of which could have far-reaching ramifications at a time of economic instability, writes Lesley Murphy.
The Court of Appeal has held that paying bonuses to employees who worked night shifts did not constitute sex discrimination.
In Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council v Bainbridge and Equality and Human Rights Commission and other appeals [2008] IRLR 776, the Court of Appeal held that a transitional pay protection scheme that, in effect, preserved the previous (unlawful) pay levels of men, while failing to offer equivalent higher pay to women engaged on work rated as equivalent, perpetuated historic indirect sex discrimination and was not objectively justified.
This week's case of the week, provided by DLA Piper, covers equal pay claims.
In Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust v Bewley [2008] IRLR 588, the EAT held that the decision in Diocese of Hallam Trustee v Connaughton was fundamentally flawed and should not be followed.
In Voss v Land Berlin C-300/06, the ECJ ruled that legislation under which overtime pay arrangements result in a part-timer being paid less overall than a comparable full-timer for the same number of hours potentially contravenes the principle of equal pay enshrined in art. 141 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to equal pay.