Equal Pay - Gender Discrimination

Amy198

Hello,

I am hoping someone might be able to help with this - apologies if is written a bit "factsy" but just wanted to not try and put emotion in it.

I started my job in 2014 - as a data analyst. Team consisted to 2 other people, both men. I was roughly aware both were paid a bit more than me but put it down to them being in the role longer and thought the difference was smaller. Both had been doing data analysis less time than i had.

In 2016 i was offered a secondment on another team as a senior analyst to cover maternity leave. They hired someone to cover me whilst on my secondment.

It is now approaching the end of my secondment and i am arranging return to my old team. They are keeping on the person they hired to cover me as one of the other team members left durong this time.

I have since found out that the person hired to cover my secondment (male) is paid significantly more tha i was. In my substantive post I was paid £24k a year (£28.5k in my secondment post) my replacement £26.5k and the other guy on the team £31k.

When i started in the role i was coming to it with 4 years worth of data analyst experience, since then i have gained another 3 years in the company with one year of that being at a higher position.

My replacement had no data analyst experience whatsoever and came into the job from his previous role as a shop assistant.

I have asked my manager if we could look at reviewing my pay to be more in line with both my experience and the other members of the team.

He has refused and said there is no budget for any increases. I have approached HR and raised this and gently indicated it as an equal pay issue but without explicity stating so. HR have come back and stated that it is up to managers discretion.

Im not quite sure what my next steps are to be honest. Should i email HR and state clearly i want to bring an equal pay claim? Is it better to go straight to my union?

Just for added info, I work for a large public sector organisation and both in my substantive role and secondment i have recieved the highest possible performance reviews. I am only not staying with my secondment team because they are going through a restrucure and I cannot be included as am on a secondment.

This feels like a clear case of sex discrimination, I am easily (both on paper and in practice) more qualified and experienced for this role but am paid considerably less than both. The replacement for me particularly feels unfair as he had literally no experience coming into the role.

Thanks for any help you might provide.

Comms69

This isn!!!8217;t gender discrimination.

You are not entitled to be paid the same.

You are entitled not to be treated less favourable BECAUSE of your gender.

What’s an equal pay claim??

anamenottaken

Comms69 wrote: »

This isn!!!8217;t gender discrimination.

You are not entitled to be paid the same.

You are entitled not to be treated less favourable BECAUSE of your gender.

What!!!8217;s an equal pay claim??

On the face of it it does look like less favourable treatment on the basis of gender.

But I see you are here to learn about equal pay.

However, Amy198, are you and your one-time replacement now doing the same job.

steampowered

It sounds like there could be a gender discrimination issue here. But we don't have enough information to know for sure either way.

This sounds like an appropriate situation for sending the employer a 'discrimination questionnaire'.

Essentially, you would send the HR department a very short list of questions stating that you suspect gender discrimination may have occurred and asking for a justification as to why you are being paid less than men in the same role.

HR should be familiar with the process as until very recently this was a formal statutory procedure under the Equality Act 2010.

There is detailed guidance from ACAS setting out exactly how to do this here: http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/m/p/Asking-and-responding-to-questions-of-discrimination-in-the-workplace.pdf.

These questionnaires can be a powerful tool for getting employers to recognise and address potential gender discrimination. Simply sending a questionnaire could help you get a pay increase to bring you up to the men's salaries.

If the employer refuses to answer your questionnaire or is unable to explain why the men get paid more, you then have a much stronger case for bringing a gender discrimination claim than you do at the moment.

Obviously, your managers might not be too happy that a questionnaire has been served.

Comms69

anamenottaken wrote: »

On the face of it it does look like less favourable treatment on the basis of gender.

But I see you are here to learn about equal pay.

However, Amy198, are you and your one-time replacement now doing the same job.

Or-

One person has been there longer and earns more
The other was a temporary contractor and attracted a premium

Please point out where anyone, except the OP has mentioned gender.

Amy198

All three people on the team perform the exact same job- same job description etc.
Three members of the team are:
1 - Male - Paid £31.5k - middle level of experience, bad performance reviews, longest time with company.
2 - Male - Paid £26.5k - zero analyst experience at all, bad performance reviews, shortest time with company - hired to be my replacement while on secondment.
3 - Female (me) - Paid £24k - most amount of analyst experience, rated as exceptional in performance reviews, medium amount of time with company.

Amy198

The one hired as a temporary replacement was interviewed alongside many others - they were not desperate to get someone in ASAP and he was mostly hired as he was dating someone else who worked on the teams daughter and was moving down from Yorkshire to live with her and needed a job and they were doing him a favour.

Just to point out - they did not need to pay him as much as they did - he didnt ask for £26k - was offered it, he would have accepted £22k - he didnt negotiate for salary

Also as an aside my manager has on more than one occasion actually stated to me he "didnt realise he wa paying me so little!"

Comms69

Amy198 wrote: »

All three people on the team perform the exact same job- same job description etc.
Three members of the team are:
1 - Male - Paid £31.5k - middle level of experience, bad performance reviews, longest time with company.
2 - Male - Paid £26.5k - zero analyst experience at all, bad performance reviews, shortest time with company - hired to be my replacement while on secondment.
3 - Female (me) - Paid £24k - most amount of analyst experience, rated as exceptional in performance reviews, medium amount of time with company.

YOU are making this a gender issue. What about age? Race? Religion? Just stop for one minute.

You seem to know ALOT about these people- how? Given you’re in a different team?

Comms69

OP if you!!!8217;re highly rated and regarded- the money would be found.

Employers don!!!8217;t typically lose good staff to keep bad.

If you can earn £31k elsewhere why are you even considering going back?

Amy198

Comms69 wrote: »

YOU are making this a gender issue. What about age? Race? Religion? Just stop for one minute.

You seem to know ALOT about these people- how? Given you’re in a different team?

I worked on the team for 2 years before going onto the secondment - it is my substantive team, I am good friends with my colleagues and we openly discuss pay and performance. My manager on the team is openly quite sexist, often being disparaging about people going on maternity leave and assigning preferential tasks to male employees. When I was on the team I was always asked to do things like minuting meetings, organising team events etc. my male colleagues were never asked to do these.

Amy198

Comms69 wrote: »

OP if you!!!8217;re highly rated and regarded- the money would be found.

Employers don!!!8217;t typically lose good staff to keep bad.

If you can earn £31k elsewhere why are you even considering going back?

Normally I would be looking to go elsewhere. However I am currently 2 months pregnant so unable to look for alternative employment at the moment.