Male workers win equal pay claims

A "landmark" legal decision involving three councils in the north east of England could pave the way for 12,000 men to take forward equal pay claims.

Financial settlements had earlier been made on groups of women workers paid less than men doing similar work.

On Tuesday, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that 300 male workers had been discriminated against as they were then on lower pay than the women.

The men, who were working in jobs such as care assistants, caretakers, drivers and leisure attendants, had lodged discrimination claims about bonuses paid to male workers in better paid jobs such as gardeners and refuse collectors.

This was at the same time as women in low paid jobs, who were also claiming that the bonuses were discriminatory.

'Piggy back'

Whilst the women's case succeeded and they were offered financial settlements, the men were not. This left them in a worse financial situation to the women, as well as the better-paid men.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that the 300 men should have been offered the same back pay as the women. These claims are sometimes called piggy back claims as the men "piggy back" on the successful women's claims.