As you probably know, you are usually entitled to be paid the same as someone else who is doing the same job as you. Equal pay laws make it unlawful to be paid less because of your gender. 
There have been several cases recently where employees are battling or have won their fight to be paid equally. Here are some of them…
Example 1
Stacey Macken joined French bank BNP Paribas as a financial product manager, at a salary of £120,000. However, she discovered a male colleague with the same job title was paid £160,000. What’s more, over five years, he received £237,000 in bonuses while she received £33,000.
In 2014, she complained, but this led to her being harassed. For example, a witch’s hat was left on her desk, and her questions were routinely answered with “Not now, Stacey”.
In 2017, she made a claim for direct sex discrimination, equal pay and victimisation.
She won her case because the tribunal found that her line manager had fixed bonuses based on gender, the grievance process was designed to reject her complaint and the company didn’t conduct a proper investigation.
Example 2
Caroline Barlow joined the BBC in 2012 and worked as head of product in the design and engineering division for more than six years.
In 2017, the corporation published its career path framework data, and she discovered that 15 men in equivalent roles were being paid more than her.
She went through the BBC’s informal pay enquiry process and received a 25% salary increase. However, she suspected she was still being underpaid so she raised a formal pay grievance. This revealed that she was receiving at least £9,000 a year less than her male peers.
The BBC claimed her work was not of equal value but didn’t provide a transparent pay breakdown despite repeated requests. Caroline felt she was disempowered, discredited, side-lined, undermined and retaliated against.
Because she felt the workplace environment was discriminatory and hostile, and that her position had become untenable, she resigned in February 2019.
She made a claim for constructive dismissal, harassment and discrimination and was awarded more than £130,000 as an out-of-court settlement.
Example 3
Tesco pay their (mostly female) store workers £3 per hour less than (mostly male) workers in their warehouses and distribution centres.
Because of this, current and former employees have formed the Tesco Action Group and are suing the supermarket for breaching section 66 of the Equality Act 2010.
The group estimates that 250,000 workers could receive £10,000 each, covering back pay over the past six years.
Tesco argues that jobs in stores are fundamentally different to those in distribution centres. However, in January, the court of appeal ruled that Asda store workers were right to compare their roles to the warehouse workers, so it will be interesting to see how the Tesco case plays out.
What this means to you
It’s not just about your rights to be paid equally. The way your employer handles your complaint is also critical to your chance of succeeding at the employment tribunal.
It’s a complex area, so if you need any advice, please give us a call. We’ll be happy to help.
Further reading
Want more information about equal pay? You might be interested to read some of our other articles on this subject:
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