August 09, 2010
After battling their employers for six years, female medical staff in Merseyside have successfully secured equal pay for working unsocial hours on weekends.
With the help of their union and legal guidance, female workers from St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust in Merseyside approached an employment tribunal to demand they be paid on a par with their male colleagues.
The women, working as healthcare assistants, domestic supervisors, and receptionists, were paid time and one third for working on a Saturday, and time and two thirds for working on Sundays and bank holidays. But men were paid at a higher rate of time and a half for Saturdays and double time for Sundays and bank holidays.
The legal action was originally rejected at a tribunal court in Newcastle but challenges through the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London ruled in the females’ favour.
The trust claimed that unsocial hours payments were part of their staff's normal working week, and that payments for these hours could not be separated out from basic pay.
However, the appeal judge backed claims that unsocial hour payments are a separate term of the employment contract, and can be directly compared.
"It is more than 40 years since the Equal Pay Act, and long overdue for employers to face up to their responsibilities to pay men and women equally. The decision made in this case clarifies that unsocial hours payments must also be 100% fair and equal," commented Dave Prentis, Unison General Secretary.
If you’ve fallen victim to ‘sexist’ wage calculations and wish to challenge your employer’s grasp of equality, employment law solicitors are here to make sure gender does not become a factor when calculating salaries.
