The Equal Pay Act 1970 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which prohibits any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. It was passed by Parliament in the aftermath of the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike and came into force on 29 December 1975. The term pay is interpreted in a broad sense to include, on top of wages, things like holidays, pension rights, company perks and some kinds of bonuses. The legislation has been amended on a number of recent occasions to incorporate a simplified approach under European Union law

European Union law

European Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...

 that is common to all member states.

Elements of a claim

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 gender..

Single Status

In 1997, trades unions negotiated Single Status job evaluation, hoping that this would enforce the Equal Pay Act without needing to take numerous pay claims to industrial tribunal. Single Status was intended to establish whether jobs were of equal value, and bring in a pay model which would remove the need for equal pay claims. Jobs which had previously been classed as manual or administrative/clerical would be brought together under one payscale and one set of terms and conditions.

Cases

• Allonby v Accrington and Rossendale College [2004] IRLR 224

• Barber v Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Group
  Barber v Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Group
  Barber v Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Group is an EU labour law and UK labour law case concerning sex discrimination in pensions.-Facts:UK law allowed employers to set different occupational pension entitlement ages...
  
  (C-262/88) [1991] 1 QB 344, definition of pay including occupational pension schemes

• Hayward v Cammell Laird Shipbuilders Ltd (No 2) [1988] AC 894, equality clause implication under EqPA 1970 s 1

• Home Office v Bailey [2005] IRLR 757, presumption of discrimination with a pay disparity
• Strathclyde Regional Council v Wallace [1998] 1 WLR 259, purpose of legislation not fair wages

• Shield v E Coomes Holding Ltd [1978] 1 WLR 1408, claimant must prove they are in like work to an actual comparator
• Capper Pass Ltd v Lawton [1977] QB 852, work must be 'of the same or a broadly similar nature'
• Eaton Ltd v Nuttall [1977] 1 WLR 549, the work may be rated as equivalent under EqPA s 1(5) through a job evaluation scheme which is 'thorough in analysis and capable of impartial application'
• Pickstone v Freemans plc [1989] AC 66, a 'token man' defance does not defeat a claim

• Macarthys Ltd v Smith (No 2) [1981] QB 180, a predecessor is a valid comparator
• Diocese of Hallam Trustee v Connaughton [1996] ICR 860, a successor is a valid comparator

• Leverton v Clywd County Council [1989] AC 706, 'common terms and conditions' can include those under collective agreements
• British Coal Corporation v Smith
  British Coal Corporation v Smith
  British Coal Corporation v Smith [1996] IRLR 404 is a UK labour law case, concerning equal pay.-Facts:Three collective agreements covered canteen, clerical and surface mineworkers who were British Coal employees. All, however, had pay and conditions set through a centralised industry level...
  
  [1996] ICR 515, terms and conditions must be 'substantially comparable' not identical
• Lawrence v Regent Office Care Ltd [2002] IRLR 822, contracting out, an associated employer and a 'single source' test under art 141 TEC
• Ratcliffe v North Yorkshire County Council [1995] ICR 833, contracting out
• North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust v Potter [2009] IRLR 176, 'single source' test
• Defrenne v Sabena [1976] ICR 547 (C-43/75), the 'same establishment or service' definition

• Clay Cross (Quarry Services) Ltd v Fletcher
  Clay Cross (Quarry Services) Ltd v Fletcher
  Clay Cross Ltd v Fletcher [1978] 1 WLR 1429 is a UK labour law case concerning sex discrimination, unequal pay, and the limits of justifications for it. It would now fall under the Equality Act 2010 sections 64 to 80.-Facts:...
  
  [1979] ICR 1, personal factors in the material difference defence
• Rainey v Greater Glasgow Health Board
  Rainey v Greater Glasgow Health Board
  Rainey v Greater Glasgow Health Board [1987] IRLR 26 is a UK labour law case concerning the justifications for unequal pay.-Facts:Ms Rainey was a prosthetist. Men had been recruited from private practice, to the Board’s new prosthetic fitting service, which had previously been done by private...
  
  [1987] AC 224, labour scarcity or geographical factors in the defence
• Enderby v Frenchay Health Authority
  Enderby v Frenchay Health Authority
  Enderby v Frenchay Health Authority is an EU labour law, relevant for UK labour law, that concerns the justification test for unequal pay between men and women.-Facts:...
  
  [1994] ICR 112 (C-127/92), defence through the 'state of the employment market' under the proportionality principle
• Glasgow County Council v Marshall [2000] ICR 196, under the SDA 1975 if no evidence of discrimination is found, a pay disparity need not be justified
• Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council v Bainbridge and Surtees v Middlesbrough Borough Council [2008] EWCA Civ 885, [2008] IRLR 776
• GMB v Allen [2008] EWCA Civ 810, [2008] IRLR 690

See also

• UK employment discrimination law
• Equal Pay Act of 1963
  Equal Pay Act of 1963
  The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a United States federal law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex . It was signed into law on June 10, 1963 by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program...
  
  , the United States legislation which influenced the Act
• Equal pay for women
  Equal pay for women
  Equal pay for women is an issue regarding pay inequality between men and women. It is often introduced into domestic politics in many first world countries as an economic problem that needs governmental intervention via regulation...
  
  

External links

• Directive 97/80/EC, on the burden of proof in sex discrimination claims.
• Treaty of the European Community, whose Article 141 address equal pay between men and women. Article 13, introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1996, is the basis for Directives 2000/78/EC and 2000/43/EC
  • Equal Pay Act 1970 as amended by The Equal Pay Act 1970 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 SI 2003/1656

• Directive 2006/54/EC, on the equal treatment of men and women in employment regarding the definitions of direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and provisions on maternity. It comes fully into effect in August 2008, and just does a consolidating job and repeals a number of previous Directives, including 76/207/EEC and 2002/73/EC.
  • Sex Discrimination Act 1975