Employment law ruling ‘will protect women from unequal pay’

Posted 21/10/2009

Working women who take time out to raise a family are to be protected from pay discrimination thanks to a landmark employment law ruling.

The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of Health and Safety Executive inspector Christine Wilson after she alleged that her employer’s policy of paying more to longer-serving workers was unfair.

Ms Wilson was aided in her case by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which argued that this policy penalises women who leave the workforce to raise children.

The commission described such schemes as a barrier to gender pay equality and stated that the ruling will set a positive precedent for similar cases.

Susie Uppal, director of legal enforcement at the commission, said: “Women should not be disadvantaged in the workforce because they take time out for maternity leave or to meet caring responsibilities.”

Last week, the EHRC called on medium-sized businesses to participate in a survey designed to monitor and explain gender pay gaps in their organisations, a move which it believes will lead to more transparency over such issues.