What does equal pay mean?
A Equal pay was a concept introduced under the Equal Pay Act 1970 (EPA). It requires contractual terms and conditions of employment to be no less favourable for men and women in the same employment when employed on work of the same or broadly similar nature, work of equal value, or work rated as equivalent under a job evaluation scheme. The EPA has two key features: • It inserts into every contract of employment an ‘equality clause’ requiring equal pay • Where work is of equal value and a male earns more than a female, it presumes the employer to be in breach of the equality clause if it is unable to explain to an employment tribunal that there is a genuine factor that explains the disparity, which is not due to the fact that the advantaged worker and the disadvantaged worker are of a different sex. Q What can an employee claim? A An employee can claim arrears of pay dating back six years. An employment tribunal can also equalise contractual terms in the future, meaning that the employ
