Happy New Year!
First of all a Happy New Year - and all the very best for 2009!
Last year was a hard slog for everyone still fighting for equal pay – with councils across Scotland using large sums of public money to delay and frustrate the employment tribunal process.
But the good news is that increasingly in 2009 the employers will have to face up to the real issues about equal pay.
Regular readers of the Action 4 Equality Scotland blog site will know what a GMF (Genuine Material Factor) hearing is all about.
Don’t be bamboozled by the legal jargon - it’s simply the formal ‘defence’ hearing where employers must explain and try to justify the big differences in pay between traditional male and female jobs.
GMF hearings are what the council employers have been desperately trying to avoid for all this time – so it’s encouraging to be able to announce that 3 major hearings are set already for 2009.
Glasgow City Council
16th March – 27th March 2009
Fife Council
30th March -3rd April and 20th April - 22nd April 2009
North Ayrshire Council
27th April – 8th May 2009
GMF hearings are public hearings – and individual claimants are entitled to go along and listen to the proceedings.
The Glasgow and North Ayrshire GMF hearings will be held at the Employment Tribunal in Glasgow.
The Fife GMF hearing will be held at the Employment Tribunal in Edinburgh.
Last year was a hard slog for everyone still fighting for equal pay – with councils across Scotland using large sums of public money to delay and frustrate the employment tribunal process.
But the good news is that increasingly in 2009 the employers will have to face up to the real issues about equal pay.
Regular readers of the Action 4 Equality Scotland blog site will know what a GMF (Genuine Material Factor) hearing is all about.
Don’t be bamboozled by the legal jargon - it’s simply the formal ‘defence’ hearing where employers must explain and try to justify the big differences in pay between traditional male and female jobs.
GMF hearings are what the council employers have been desperately trying to avoid for all this time – so it’s encouraging to be able to announce that 3 major hearings are set already for 2009.
Glasgow City Council
16th March – 27th March 2009
Fife Council
30th March -3rd April and 20th April - 22nd April 2009
North Ayrshire Council
27th April – 8th May 2009
GMF hearings are public hearings – and individual claimants are entitled to go along and listen to the proceedings.
The Glasgow and North Ayrshire GMF hearings will be held at the Employment Tribunal in Glasgow.
The Fife GMF hearing will be held at the Employment Tribunal in Edinburgh.
