Gender pay gap could lead to employment law cases

Posted 05/03/2012

Companies may be open to employment law cases if they fail to pay employees of different genders equally, as it has been revealed there is still a pay gap between men and women in Europe.

Research by the European Commission revealed women across the continent earn an average of 16.4 per cent less than their male counterparts, despite the fact the principle of equal pay has been written into EU treaties since 1957.

While it shows there has been a slight downwards trend in recent years, there is wide variety across the continent, as the pay gap is just two per cent in Poland, but more than 27 per cent in Estonia.

In the UK, it is claimed by the Fawcett Society that the average gap stands at 14.9 per cent less per hour for females.

The research was released to coincide with the second annual European Equal Pay Day, which takes place today (March 5th) and represents the amount of time women have effectively been working for free since January 1st.

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said it is “high time” that equal pay in put into practice across the continent.