Eight thousand Glasgow City Council workers walked out last week in what is thought to be the largest strike in UK history over equal pay.
The decade-long dispute has seen cleaners complaining that they are paid up to £3 (US$3.84) an hour less than men working in broadly equivalent roles. Lawyers have estimated that settling the claims could cost the Council anything between £500 million (US$639 million) and £1 billion (US$1.2 billion), according to HR Grapevine.
But Paul Holcroft, associate director at HR consultancy Croner, warned People Management that the scrapping of tribunal fees in 2017 could leave other employers more susceptible to legal action from staff too.
“The difficulty for employers is that employees who don’t feel they are being listened to, or where the matter is not resolved to their satisfaction, can seek a ‘free’ legal outcome,” he said. “Additionally, because many of these cases relate to historic concerns or pay schemes which have since been replaced, many organisations are likely to struggle with the overall cost of resolving these claims.”
This means they may “shy away from addressing this initially, to avoid opening the floodgates to similar claims”, Holcroft added.
Meanwhile, Icelandic prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir joined a walkout last week to protest against wage inequality and sexual harassment, Bloomberg reported.
Although Iceland introduced a landmark law in January forcing companies to prove they do not pay women less than men for doing the same job, females still earn on average 26% less than males. The implementation of the country’s equal pay legislation has been more complex than initially anticipated, with the deadline for large companies to comply slipping by a year.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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Eight thousand Glasgow City Council workers walked out last week in what is thought to be the largest strike in UK history over equal pay.
The decade-long dispute has seen cleaners complaining that they are paid up to £3 (US$3.84) an hour less than men working in broadly equivalent roles. Lawyers have estimated that settling the claims could cost the Council anything between £500 million (US$639 million) and £1 billion (US$1.2 billion), according to HR Grapevine.
But Paul Holcroft, associate director at HR consultancy Croner, warned People Management that the scrapping of tribunal fees in 2017 could leave other employers more susceptible to legal action from staff too.
“The difficulty for employers is that employees who don’t feel they are being listened to, or where the matter is not resolved to their satisfaction, can seek a ‘free’ legal outcome,” he said. “Additionally, because many of these cases relate to historic concerns or pay schemes which have since been replaced, many organisations are likely to struggle with the overall cost of resolving these claims.”
This means they may “shy away from addressing this initially, to avoid opening the floodgates to similar claims”, Holcroft added.
Meanwhile, Icelandic prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir joined a walkout last week to protest against wage inequality and sexual harassment, Bloomberg reported.
Although Iceland introduced a landmark law in January forcing companies to prove they do not pay women less than men for doing the same job, females still earn on average 26% less than males. The implementation of the country’s equal pay legislation has been more complex than initially anticipated, with the deadline for large companies to comply slipping by a year.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
OTHER ARTICLES THAT MAY INTEREST YOU
Ontario legislates for equal pay for equal work
Glasgow Council boss expects equal pay claim to be settled by year end
Tesco hit with potential £4bn legal challenge for equal pay in UK
