388 Chapter 14Employment (2): Discrimination and health and safety
Figure 14.1An overview of the equal pay provisionstakes any action against a person who is protected by this section then this would amount
to victimisation. So if a woman thought she was being paid less than a man doing the same
type of work, and asked him what he was paid, it would be victimisation of the man if the
employer took any action against him for having discussed his pay.
Employers of 250 or more employees may be required by future regulations to publish
information relating to differences in the pay of male and female employees.Remedies
A claimant must bring a claim before an employment tribunal either while still in the
employment or within six months of leaving it. Both damages and up to six years’ back pay
can be awarded. It is not only the overall benefits which must be equalised, each term must
be no less beneficial. The EPA 1970 and Article 141 are not limited to wages or salary.
Matters such as compensation for unfair dismissal, redundancy payments, payments for
attending courses, travel benefits for retired employees and sick pay have all been held to
be within the meaning of ‘pay’.
Figure 14.1 shows an overview of the equal pay provisions.