Equal Pay Claims - Limitation period?

terrencetrentderby

I would really appreciate any advice around the period during which a claim for Equal Pay compensation can be brought?

A family member worked at a local school as a dinner nanny and cleaner between 2001 and 2005. She was never in the union & shortly before she left a number of her colleagues initiated claims through the GMB for equal pay. The official position of the employer at the time was that the claims for equal pay were groundless. Recently, she has found out that a number of her former colleagues have received pay outs after the employer unsuccessfully appealed to the EAT.

Is she out of time? I heard you can claim going back six years but even that would be no good to her now. Is there anything she can do?

ohreally

May not be what you want to hear.

A claim for equal pay also has a time limit in a standard case of six months from the end of the relevant employment, but it can be brought at any time while the claimant is working in that job.

A tribunal has no discretion to extend the time limit in equal pay claims, although there are some cases in which the time limit may be modified — these are where the employer has concealed facts, where the claimant was of unsound mind and where the claimant worked under a series of contracts in a stable employment relationship but there was a break between contracts.

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terrencetrentderby

ohreally wrote: »

May not be what you want to hear.





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Thanks ohreally

In a sense facts were concealed in that the employer insisted throughout there was no equal pay issue because the comparitors were said by the employer to be doing different work which the ET has presumably subsequently found to have been a false contention. It won't be straightforward but I would love this person to pursue this as they could really use the money, it would amount to quite a sum for them, perhaps not to your average MSE member, but to them it would be huge. They were it appears entitled to the money all along and just because they weren't litigious in their attitude at an earlier stage they stand to lose out on their fair share.

Does anyone think this is worth a shot? Any lawyers maybe?

Southend1

terrencetrentderby wrote: »

Thanks ohreally

In a sense facts were concealed in that the employer insisted throughout there was no equal pay issue because the comparitors were said by the employer to be doing different work which the ET has presumably subsequently found to have been a false contention. It won't be straightforward but I would love this person to pursue this as they could really use the money, it would amount to quite a sum for them, perhaps not to your average MSE member, but to them it would be huge. They were it appears entitled to the money all along and just because they weren't litigious in their attitude at an earlier stage they stand to lose out on their fair share.

Does anyone think this is worth a shot? Any lawyers maybe?

Sounds like a lost cause to me. Best to check by getting some professional advice if possible though.

Another thread where the person in question would have been better off had they been a union member from day one.

hawk30

You have 6 years to bring an equal pay claim in the courts (6 months for employment tribunals). As you say, she is outside this. The limitation periods can be extended in some circumstances, but this is outside my area of knowledge. Someone more knowledgeable may be along soon.