Holmes Mackillop urges employers to consider whether pay discrepancies could give rise to a claim of indirect discrimination
Holmes Mackillop Solicitors is urging employers to consider if there is a legitimate reason why comparable employees are paid higher and whether any discrepancy in pay could give rise to a claim of indirect discrimination.
The advice follows the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s recent publication of a judgement where it was asked to determine whether high street retailer Next had a legitimate reason for paying its warehouse staff a higher wage than its retail staff.
On appeal it was determined that it was necessary to pay warehouse staff more as there were legitimate commercial pressures concerning retention and recruitment which did not apply to retail staff.
It was held to be justifiable for Next to rely on market forces to distinguish between these two comparable categories of workers.
Katie Maguire, trainee solicitor at Holmes Mackillop, said that while the tribunal found there to be no direct discrimination, the topic of indirect sex discrimination was a key aspect put forward for consideration.
“The retail staff was predominantly made up of female employees while the warehouse staff had a male majority,” she said.
“Although Next was ultimately found to be justified in its decision, it had the unintended consequence of disproportionately affecting its female employees.
“To prevent potential claims surrounding indirect discrimination, employers should ensure they have legitimate reasons for any discrepancies.
“It may not present itself as obvious, but any pay or employee benefit discrepancy that has the effect of placing one group of people at a disadvantage compared to another at a comparable level could lead to a tribunal claim.”
For employers with over 250 employees, it became compulsory in 2017 to publish reports on the gender pay gap.
“In April of this year, the government formally encouraged employers to start voluntarily publishing action plans concerning the gender pay gap,” said Maguire.
“This is ahead of these measures becoming compulsory in the employment law changes that come into effect next year.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Katie Maguire tel 0141 226 4942