Abolition of the statutory equal pay questionnaire

Equal pay claims became even harder with the abolition, on 6 April 2014, of the statutory equal pay questionnaire. This was a questionnaire procedure that enabled a woman to ask her employer for information about pay before deciding whether to issue equal pay proceedings in the tribunal.

However, women can still ask structured questions in writing about their pay, as new Acas guidance, Asking and responding to questions of discrimination in the workplace, makes clear. The guidance can be downloaded from the Acas website.

Moreover, tribunals can still take into account evasive or incomplete answers about pay, when deciding whether that employer has discriminated unlawfully.

The new Acas guidance suggests a three-step approach to the questioning process in relation to pay:

• identify your comparator;

• explain how they are doing equal work to you; and

• ask further relevant pay-related questions, such as, how is pay determined by the employer and what is in the comparator’s job description that could explain the difference in pay.

The new Acas guidance on asking questions about discrimination at work is discussed more generally on pages 196-197.

www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/m/p/Asking-and-responding-to-questions-of-discrimination-in-the-workplace.pdf