Secondary equal pay claims

We've had lots of enquiries recently about so-called 'secondary' equal pay claims - these arise because councils continue to protect the higher pay of the of traditional male groups - even after new local pay structures have been introduced.

So, even if you've accepted a 'compensation' settlement from the council - this only covers the past, not the future - and you will continue to have a claim for equal pay for as long as the pay gap continues.

In many cases, the employers have agreed pay protection for years into the future - and that means sizeable claims for many female dominated jobs that have been losing out for years.

The root problem has been the employers failure to implement the 1998 Single Status (equal pay) agreement - and the willingness of the trade unions to turn a blind eye to the blatant pay discrimination against their low paid women members.

In addition, many female dominated jobs will continue to have an equal pay claim even after a new job evaluation (JE) scheme has been introduced.

Action 4 Equality has plenty of evidence to show that many employers have used job evaluation to introduce Single Status on the cheap - and in ways that simply maintain all the old pay differentials.

See the Action 4 Equality Scotland site for examples of employers behaving badly when it comes to job evaluation - www.action4equalityscotland.blogspot.com

So, the message is there's still lots to play for on equal pay - but you can only benefit if you stand up for your rights and register an individual claim.