Council Workers Win Equal Pay Case

More than 4,000 council workers in Birmingham have won the right to be paid the same as their male colleagues in a landmark case which could lead to total payouts worth about £200m.

An employment tribunal found in favour of the mostly female workers employed by Birmingham City Council in 49 different jobs, including lollipop ladies and cleaners, who complained of being excluded from bonuses which were being paid to men.

During the seven-week hearing, the tribunal heard how a man doing the same pay-graded job as a woman could earn four times more than her. The tribunal found that these payments could not be justified since they were being paid to the men for simply doing their jobs. The tribunal also held that found senior council managers had been aware of the problem as early on as 2000 but had not done anything about it.

Under a bonus scheme, male refuse collection staff sometimes received up to 160% of their basic pay in additional payments. For example, in one year a refuse collector took home £51,000 while women on the same pay grade received less than £12,000.

Unions described the women's victory as a "major" case which could encourage other female public sector workers to bring similar claims. The union said it was difficult to calculate the total amount the council would have to pay out as a result of the tribunal's ruling as payments would be calculated on an individual basis depending on factors such as length of service and whether people were full-time or part-time workers. However, Unison estimated that the total payout could be in the region of £30 million. Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: "For too long Birmingham City Council has failed to live up to its responsibilities to pay these women workers fairly." He said the council had cost taxpayers a huge amount in legal fees fighting the claims, which would have been better spent providing local services.

Birmingham council was keen to stress that the claims were in relation to an old pay grading and bonus structure that was now no longer in place. Councillor Alan Rudge, cabinet member for equalities and human resources, said the council had removed its "inappropriate bonus schemes" in 2007.

If you would like more information about your employment rights visit the Citizens advice Northern Ireland Website and download our Employment Law Factsheets. These can be found at www.citizensadvice.co.uk/en/Publications/Fact-Sheets/Employment-Rights/