More than 200 low-paid female employees of Dundee and Perth councils have won the legal right to take their claims for backdated pay under equal pay legislation to an employment tribunal.
The ruling of three appeal court judges has been hailed by a union official as a significant victory in a long campaign for justice for some of the lowest-paid workers in society.
The Court of Session judges decided the women’s cases for backdated pay should be sent back to be heard by an employment tribunal in Dundee. The cases were initially set for that forum but the two councils appealed and the matter was referred to the employment appeals tribunal who ruled in the councils’ favour.
The women, supported by the trade unions Unison and Unite, challenged the appeals’ tribunal ruling in the Court of Session and the judges have now declared that the applications for equal pay hearings should after all go to the tribunal.
The cases stem from equal pay agreements implemented by councils throughout the UK which made local authorities pay more to low-earning workers, many of them female. There were cases where women were paid less than men for the same job, cases where different jobs consisting of the same duties carried different rates of pay and cases of different jobs with different duties but with the same equal value points totals carrying different pay.
Councils ended up having to award more money to thousands of workers who had not been paid enough. In many of the cases the payments were backdated.
The group of more than 200 low-paid female workers of Dundee City and Perth and Kinross councils mainly cleaners, caterers and carers were regraded but missed out on backdated pay. They went through the mandatory grievance procedure under the Employment Act of 2002 intended to encourage negotiation and settlement of claims without resort to tribunals and courts but were unsuccessful.
They then tried to take their claims for backdated pay under equal pay legislation to the employment tribunal but were blocked after the councils appealed against the first tribunal ruling in their favour.
The workers persevered and have ultimately succeeded in being able to have their cases heard by the tribunal.
In a 27-page judgment, Lady Paton, Lord Emslie and Lord Osborne gave a detailed analysis of the statutory requirements of the legislation and the status and validity of comparators workers against whom the claimants are compared for consideration of equal pay and found for the women.
Lady Paton and Lord Osborne agreed the appeal should be upheld and that the cases should be remitted back to the employment tribunal. Lord Emslie said he was unable to share some of Lady Paton’s views and conclusions and favoured a different disposal for certain aspects of the appeals.
Emma Phillips, regional organiser of Unison in Dundee, said the legal ruling was a significant victory for the low-paid workers. She said the amount of money at stake in Dundee and Perth probably runs in total to several thousands rather than millions of pounds.
A Dundee City Council spokesman said: ”The city council will be studying the judgment in detail before deciding on the next course of action.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesman said: ”We are grateful that the court has now clarified the issue. These cases will now be remitted back to the Dundee tribunal judge who will now determine the further procedure for these claims.”