Sex equality clause

Like the EPA 1970, the EA 10 (section 66 EA 10) operates by automatically implying a sex equality clause into every contract of employment, entitling the employee to equal pay.

The equality clause applies to all contract terms, not just wages. It includes, for example, the right to sick pay, bonus payments, overtime, shift payments, paid annual leave, mortgage interest allowance and special retirement privileges (such as travel concessions, pensions and redundancy pay) along with any non-monetary contractual benefits, such as the right to a company car or access to sports and social benefits.

Discretionary bonuses may be covered by the equality clause, but this depends on the way the discretion is framed. Bonuses might therefore be covered if the discretion relates to how much should be paid to all employees each year, as opposed to whether to pay a bonus at all.

The ordinary sex discrimination provisions of the Act (section 11 EA 10) also apply to other non-contractual benefits such as promotions, transfers and training and offers of employment or appointments to office (ECHR Code of Practice, para 8.70).

Each term in the employment contract stands separately. In other words, an employer cannot justify one unequal term by saying that an employee benefited under another different term, or that taken together, the overall package is better than that of an equivalent man (St Helens & Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trusts v Brownhill [2011] EWCA Civ 903).