Sexual discrimination/equal pay issue

hedger

my wife is being treated terribly in work and is now threatened with redundancy. a quick overview:
wife has been employed for 4 years as a H&S advisor in a construction co. she was employed after obtaining her NEBOSH cert. after 2 years her direct manager left and was replaced with an old timer who really hadnt a clue. around this time another male advisor joined the company carry out the same type of work. last year when she went for her annual review the director very foolishly set down the male advisors package details. after reading the letter my wife said it would be great if i earned this much however i dont - the male employee is earning £6500 a year more than my wife and alos receives £100 per month more car allowance! the director near died with embarrasment after realising his error in showing the other guys package. my wife followed this meeting up with an email to the director asking for equal pay but he said "it is up to each employee to negotiate their package when they start". since then she has been treated terribly (including bein forced to work in scotland for 3 days a week) and was afraid of pushing it further (despite me urging her to).

now there is the threat of redundancies and another helpful director has told my wife in private that it is between her and the higher paid male advisor who will go. this is even before any appraisal has taken place. low and behold she was told on friday that the "embarrased" director and the incompetent manager will be doing her assessment!

i think its a cast iron case of equal pay and sexual discrimination. any thoughts/advice? should she take a grievance about the pay now? wud that prejudice her assessment?

maninthestreet

Is the male advisor performing the exact same duties as your wife?

hayley11

He is more qualified than you wife? £6500 does seem an awful difference though. And it's wrong for them to be treating her badly now no matter what the issue is regarding pay. Has she thought of raising a grievance?

I used to work in a call centre, 6 of us started at the same time and some of us received more money than others because we were more experienced/qualified.

kateab

I promise I don't work for them but I would suggest these people:

http://www.rjw.co.uk/EqualityXpress

Don't forget that legal expenses cover you get with bank accounts or house insurance will often cover expenses to take your employer to tribunals.

kateab

gordikin

Working in Scotland is a perk!

1984ReturnsForReal_2

hedger wrote: »

i think its a cast iron case of equal pay and sexual discrimination. any thoughts/advice?

You would think that wouldnt you.

Its you wife.


Personally I think you havent written anything to suggest it is.

Having incompetent bosses is not illegal or discriminatory ...... yet anyway..


I was a manager once & told some of my staff as soon as I "unofficially" knew they were going to be put on notice, is that the companies fault?


As for a building company making an H&S person redundant when they more than likely have much fewer sites than in 2004....... thats bound to happen.

As for the pay.. You havent mentioned the mans experience which leads me to believe he is much more experienced otherwise you would of mentioned it......

& if I was deciding who I was keeping it would be the most experienced, adaptable & the best team player & yes.... legal threats etc would come into the process also.

* just an observation from what you have written..


PS one of my neighbours works for a building company as he has for the last 7 years. He has a baby (1 yr old) & for the next 6 months they have sent him to London & he has to stay overnight Mon-Fri because that is the only work they have for him. I will tell him to lodge a formal complaint......

:rolleyes:

hedger

maninthestreet wrote: »

Is the male advisor performing the exact same duties as your wife?

EXACTLY the same duties and she has an email from her direct manager confirming as much. regarding experience he has a NEBOSH Diploma (which is higher than the certificate) but the requirements for the job were NEBOSH Cert and a 3rd level qualification. he didnt have a 3rd level qualification but my wife does. he is younger then my wife so has not as much industry experience imo.
from what I have researched (and we are now taking professional advice) it is clearly an equal pay issue

hedger

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

You would think that wouldnt you.

Its you wife.

Personally I think you havent written anything to suggest it is.

Having incompetent bosses is not illegal or discriminatory ...... yet anyway.. - I didnt say it was


I was a manager once & told some of my staff as soon as I "unofficially" knew they were going to be put on notice, is that the companies fault? - it is if they have decided who is going prior to a fair assessment of each employee


As for a building company making an H&S person redundant when they more than likely have much fewer sites than in 2004....... thats bound to happen. - correct. to reduce costs so why keep someone doing the same job for £7,000 per year more?

As for the pay.. You havent mentioned the mans experience which leads me to believe he is much more experienced otherwise you would of mentioned it...... - imo he is not, as ive highlighted in the post above

& if I was deciding who I was keeping it would be the most experienced, adaptable & the best team player & yes.... legal threats etc would come into the process also. - we are not threatening anyone. discriminating against a woman is against the law and if she is going to pushed out the door then she should take all she can

* just an observation from what you have written..


PS one of my neighbours works for a building company as he has for the last 7 years. He has a baby (1 yr old) & for the next 6 months they have sent him to London & he has to stay overnight Mon-Fri because that is the only work they have for him. I will tell him to lodge a formal complaint...... - why would you do that?
:rolleyes:

:rolleyes:

hedger

Equal pay

The equal pay law is meant to help ensure that women and men
in the same employment are treated equally in pay and other terms
and conditions of employment. Under the Equal Pay Act (Northern
Ireland) 1970 (as amended) employees may claim equal pay with
colleagues of the opposite sex where they are in the same
employment and are doing:
• work which is the same or broadly similar (known as "like work")
• work related as equivalent under a job evaluation scheme
• work which is different but which is of "equal value" in terms
of the demands of the jobs.
The Equal Pay Act includes terms of the contract of employment
such as:
• piece work
• overtime
• bonus payments
• holidays
• free accommodation
• pensions.
The law allows an employer to defend an equal pay case by showing
that the difference in pay between male and female employees is

genuinely due to some material factor other than the difference of sex.

:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Pete111

Sounds like you have got a good case - a 7.7k difference for the same work/Quals is a big gap. The fact that the other worker is a man is also helpful to your argument. If I was their HR guy I would be concerned re the risk here (from what you have written anyway).

Take advice (as you are doing). You may want to see how the redundancy situation pans out first however. If they make your wife redundant then I would advise this becomes a key part of the appeal/Claim against the company which should include. Unfair dismissal, Equal pay discrimination and Sex discrimination.

Oh and take 1984's comments with a pinch of salt!

Good luck

P

woody01

maninthestreet wrote: »

Is the male advisor performing the exact same duties as your wife?

It makes no difference.
You do not have to pay people the same for doing the same job. There is alos NO LAW which states this.

When employment starts, you negotiate your salary and the boss pays what you are worth. If that is less than a counterpart then either:

a). They are a better negotiator
b). They are better qualified or more experienced.
c). They are simply better at their job.

There is no case to answer here and although the boss should not have disclosed the other persons salary, it shows he has one of the above over your wife.