Equal Pay
We believe that we are about to see a huge increase in equal pay litigation in the private sector in light of the introduction of compulsory gender pay gap reporting. This is compulsory for organisations with over 250 employees. However, all businesses should consider conducting an equal pay audit. This enables you to identify any liabilities and protect against litigation which can be damaging to your reputation and very costly (equal pay claims can go back six years).
We can help your business by:
-
Advising on your gender pay gap reporting obligations and working with your HR and Reward teams to conduct a gender pay audit.
-
Providing legally privileged advice that identifies equal pay liabilities that may have accrued, stress- tests any potential justifications and makes recommendations to address high risk areas.
-
Reviewing or drafting recruitment, promotion and pay review procedures to ensure remuneration is fair and transparent and not inadvertently discriminatory.
-
Advising on the response to Equal Pay questionnaires and defending Equal Pay litigation.
Case study
-
Successfully defending a regulated business against equal pay litigation brought by a senior female actuary. The employee’s claim was defeated in the Employment Tribunal and her appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal and Court of Appeal were also unsuccessful.
-
Delivering interactive training on Equal Pay legislation and the Gender Pay Gap reporting requirements to a client’s line managers and HR team.
-
Drafting an Equal Pay policy with clear definitions, objectives and actions in order to meet a client’s obligations in this area.