Equal Pay Triumph for NHS workers
Great news for NHS workers.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has thrown out the NHS employer claims that historical collective bargaining to blame for unequal pay.
The landmark judgment in the EAT paves the way for thousands of low paid women in the NHS including nurses, health care assistants, medical secretaries and many other support staff.
The ruling was made in the equal pay test case of North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust v Ms Potter and others (18 December 2008).
The critical test case examined whether an NHS trust could defend pay inequality between female and male staff doing comparable work because of the impact of historical differences in collective bargaining.
In other words, the employer tried to argue that any pay differences were caused inadvertently - by historical accident - with women being represented by one bargaining unit - and men being represented by another.
The NHS case is very similar to the arguments raised by Edinburgh City Council about APT&C workers in local government - see post dated 23 October 2008.
The judgment is highly significant because, historically, terms and conditions for workers in the NHS have been set by trade union and employers in a collective bargaining process. Thousands more women nationwide will now proceed.
North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust, the women's NHS employer, had tried to argue that all of their claims were invalid because any disparity in pay had arisen as a result of the parallel collective bargaining systems.
In short, the NHS employer tried to distance itself from the collective bargaining machinery, to which it was a party, so that it could claim that it bore no responsibility for the pay differences that existed amongst its own staff.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal, roundly rejected this argument together with other unmeritorious technical points designed to prevent the women from progressing their claims. The judge concluded that the Trust was responsible and accountable for any inequality of pay that existed.
Indeed, the NHS employer had paid out compensation to nurses in the past, in similar circumstances, when equal pay claims had been pursued.
More to follow - and our thanks to Cloisters web site for providing some of the details on this important case.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has thrown out the NHS employer claims that historical collective bargaining to blame for unequal pay.
The landmark judgment in the EAT paves the way for thousands of low paid women in the NHS including nurses, health care assistants, medical secretaries and many other support staff.
The ruling was made in the equal pay test case of North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust v Ms Potter and others (18 December 2008).
The critical test case examined whether an NHS trust could defend pay inequality between female and male staff doing comparable work because of the impact of historical differences in collective bargaining.
In other words, the employer tried to argue that any pay differences were caused inadvertently - by historical accident - with women being represented by one bargaining unit - and men being represented by another.
The NHS case is very similar to the arguments raised by Edinburgh City Council about APT&C workers in local government - see post dated 23 October 2008.
The judgment is highly significant because, historically, terms and conditions for workers in the NHS have been set by trade union and employers in a collective bargaining process. Thousands more women nationwide will now proceed.
North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust, the women's NHS employer, had tried to argue that all of their claims were invalid because any disparity in pay had arisen as a result of the parallel collective bargaining systems.
In short, the NHS employer tried to distance itself from the collective bargaining machinery, to which it was a party, so that it could claim that it bore no responsibility for the pay differences that existed amongst its own staff.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal, roundly rejected this argument together with other unmeritorious technical points designed to prevent the women from progressing their claims. The judge concluded that the Trust was responsible and accountable for any inequality of pay that existed.
Indeed, the NHS employer had paid out compensation to nurses in the past, in similar circumstances, when equal pay claims had been pursued.
More to follow - and our thanks to Cloisters web site for providing some of the details on this important case.
