Unequal pay doesn’t add up warns employment lawyer
11 February 2004
A Preston employment lawyer is warning local firms to review its pay structures, after new research revealed seven in ten UK employers are not paying its employees equally.
A survey of human resources staff by business research group, Croner, discovered 70 % of companies had not reviewed its pay structure, with 15 % uncertain if any action had been taken on equal pay.
Sadiq Vohra of MWR Solicitors believes employees experiencing unfair pay could have the capacity to seek legal action against their employers.
He said: “This research shows that many employers are slow to resolve pay gaps between male and female staff, especially with new proposals recently released aimed at penalising employers with unfair wage policies.
“The government has announced plans to speed up equal pay disputes at tribunals, with new laws being drafted for later this year.”
Last year, the government introduced Equal Pay Questionnaires, giving workers access to information on their colleagues’ pay, to view any discrepancies.
Mr Vohra says if employees feel they are being paid less than a colleague due to their sex, they could take action.
“If employers are unaware of the gender pay gap, then it’s possible that gender discrimination may be unwittingly taking place.
“If a gender pay gap emerges and cannot be accounted for through equal recruitment policies, promotional openings and pay scales for men and women, then employers could face allegations of unequal pay, potential fines or even prosecution,” he concluded.
