Secondary Claims

Councils around the country follow the same predictable pattern in dealing with equal pay - after years of sitting on their backsides.

First, they try and 'buy out' key groups of staff (normally just some of the manual workers) - with very poor offers of settlement - which they bully and pressurise people into accepting without the benefit of proper advice.

Second, they don't explain that the higher pay of the traditional male groups is being protected for years into the future - because continuing to favour the men is itself discriminatory and simply leads to further claims.

Some councils are protecting the men's higher rates of pay for 3 or 4 years - others indefinitely!

But while the pay gap between male and female jobs continues to exist - people can still raise an equal pay claim - even if they have already accepted an offer of settlement.

The employers' don't want their employees to understand what's going on - after all they've kept them in the dark for the past 10 years - why would they change now?

The unions should be advising their members that they have perfectly good claims - so long as there is a pay gap between male and female jobs. But the unions are completely compromised because they have agreed the protection arrangements which favour the traditional male jobs.

So, our advice is that - even if you have accepted an offer of settlement - don't accept second best - don't accept being paid less than the male dominated jobs for years into the future.