Equal pay for equal work is simple in theory but complicated in practice.

The right to equal pay is set out in the Equal Pay Act 1970. The effect of a successful claim for equal pay is that an "equality clause" is inserted into the claimant's contract of employment, meaning that the worker is entitled to equality of pay and other terms and conditions with someone of the opposite sex in a comparable job.

The Equal Pay Act provides three ways for a claimant to show that their work is of equal value to that of the comparator. These are where the claimant and the comparator carry out work which is:
red bullet indicating list item "like work"
red bullet indicating list item "work related as equivalent" under a job evaluation scheme
red bullet indicating list item "work of equal value" under an independent assessment.

While there is no direct obligation for employers to audit pay and grading structures for equal pay, such an audit will help employers avoid equal pay cases as an audit will highlight problem areas and lead to change that will make pay and grading structures more fair and robust. There is also the broader benefit from being seen to apply a fair and equitable reward system, and the positive impact this has on employee perceptions and satisfaction.

Fraser Consulting can:

  • conduct an equal pay review of your pay and grading structure to establish whether any gender-related pay inequities have arisen, analyse the nature of any inequities and diagnose the cause, and determine what action is required to deal with any inequities that are revealed.
  • Review job evaluation systems and processes for bias, including advising on choice of scheme, aassessment of job evaluation factors for potential bias, checking weighting, selecting and analysing benchmark jobs to evaluate and providing training and information on discriminatory considerations for job analysts and evaluators.