The Equal Pay Act of 1970 was established by the British Parliament to prevent discrimination as regards to terms and conditions of employment between men and women. It came into force in 1975.
The Act aims to ensure that every term in a woman’s contract of employment is not less favorable than the equivalent term in a man’s contract (e.g. lower pay or fewer holidays). It applies equally to men seeking equal pay with women.
Claims
For an employee to claim under this Act they must prove one of the following:
- That the work done by the claimant is the same, or broadly the same, as the other employee.
- That the work done by the claimant is of equal value to that of the other employee.
- That the work done by the claimant is rated (by a job evaluation study) the same as that of the other employee.
Once the employee has established that they are employed on ‘equal work’ with their comparator then they are entitled to ‘equal pay’ unless the employer proves that the difference in pay is genuinely due to a material factor which is not the difference in sex.
See Also
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- Discrimination
- Employment Rights Act 1996
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