Gender pay gaps cost dearly in employment tribunal situations

In January 2012, 943 female staff past and present at Bury Council finally had their day when an agreement was reached for the settlement of their claims for gender pay gaps. It had taken several years for a resolution to be reached, following initial claims against their employer that they were paid less than their male counterparts fulfilling similar roles, and also received lower bonus payments.

Their cases were upheld by an employment tribunal in 2009, when it was concluded that these female staff should be compensated with backdated pay. By January 2012, 672 individual claims had been settled, leaving a further 138 to be redressed. Whilst no actual figures have been disclosed by the council, it is thought that the collective compensation pay outs run into the millions of pounds.

It makes for frightening reading for any employers who are unsure whether or not their rates of pay abide by employment law. However, help is at hand for businesses that may do their best to tackle human resources matters, yet lack the specific experience to be sure whether they are on the right side of employment law or not. The Bury Council story specifically highlights pay outs made following an employment tribunal for workplace discrimination on grounds of gender. Yet gender issues alone are far from the sole reasons that businesses end up defending themselves at an employment tribunal.

At NorthgateArinso, we are outsourced human resources and employment law specialists. We offer business owners trustworthy advice and practical help about workplace discrimination on the grounds of age, race, religion and sexual orientation, as well as gender. We do this by assisting with company policies, contracts, human resources procedures and management training to allay the fears of business owners worried about equality in the workplace.