Labour Research (December 2007)

Law Queries

Fair pay

Q: We have people doing the same jobs in the same workplace but on different rates of pay. There is no sex discrimination as both are mixed groups of men and women. Is there any law that can allow one job to be compared to a similar one for pay purposes?

A: The only legislation for pay equality is the Equal Pay Act 1970, which exists to prevent discrimination on grounds of sex. There is no general legal right for employees to be paid the same; this is something you will need to resolve through union negotiation.


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