IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK:
* EQUAL PAY
* REQUESTS TO WORK PART-TIME
* DRUG MISUSE AT WORK
* DATA PROTECTION ACT - DELAYED PUBLICATION OF CODE OF PRACTICE
EQUAL PAY CLAIM SETTLED FOR £10,400
An office administrator who claimed to have been paid almost £4,000 less
than a male colleague doing work of equal value has received £10,400
compensation from her former employer in an out of court settlement.
Ms D's duties were to provide administrative support for the branch she
worked within including dealing with post, managing the branch diary,
dealing with bad debts, customer queries relating to payment of claims and
policy cancellations. She compared her pay with a man who worked as an
insurance adviser, responding to enquiries, preparing quotes and selling
policies and renewals. Her comparator was paid £13,000 a year, compared
with her salary of £9,100. An employment tribunal commissioned an
independent expert to prepare a report and the expert concluded that Ms
Daly's work, in both her roles, was of equal value to that of her
comparator.
This case raises important issues for all employers; without a fair and
transparent pay structure it can be all too easy for pay discrimination,
conscious or not, to occur. EOC research has shown that although the vast
majority of employers are confident they pay fairly, very few have any
evidence to support that belief. It is always recommended that employers
review their pay systems to ensure they are not biased.
FLEXIBLE WORKING - PART-TIME
A former receptionist was paid £8,000 in an out of court settlement after
her company's refusal to let her work part-time following her return to
work from maternity leave. The cost of full-time childcare provision led
the receptionist to resign from her position. However, following her
resignation she discovered that the company had employed a part-time
receptionist.
A woman returning from ordinary maternity leave has the right to return to
her former position [s71(4)(c) ERA 1996] or, where that position no longer
exists, alternative employment under a new contract of employment on not
substantially less favourable terms she would have enjoyed had she
continued to be employed under the previous contract of employment. Reg 10
Maternity and Paternal Leave etc Regulations 1999.
However, liability for a claim of indirect discrimination under the 1975
Act may arise in circumstances where an employer who, without
justification, fails to accede to a request to work part-time. In the
present case, the employer's appointment of a part-time receptionist
effectively destroyed its defence that it required a full-time
receptionist. It is essential employers carefully consider requests to
work flexibly and provide employees and where the request is to be
declined, provide employees with objective reasons for that decision.
HEALTH & SAFETY - DRUG MISUSE AT WORK
Employers have a general duty under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and
welfare at work of its employees. There is also the prospect that
employers may be prosecuted where it knowingly allows an employee under
the influence of drugs to continue working and where that employee's
behaviour places the employee or others at risk.
The Health & Safety Commission have produced a guide for employers aimed
at establishing a policy for dealing with drug misuse at work a copy of
which is available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg91.pdf
DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998
The long awaited Code of Practice on the Use of Personal Data in
Employer/employee Relationships that was expected to be published in
Spring 2001 has been delayed.
A partial explanation for the delay has been cited as the unexpectedly
large and detailed response to the draft Code.
While we await the final version we can be comforted by the Information
Commissioner's Report that proposes to seek expert assistance in the final
drafting to ensure the code is as accessible as possible to its primary
audience of human resources managers. The Code itself will be supported by
summaries of key points for particular target groups such as smaller
businesses.'
We recognise the significance of the Code to our readers as one method
towards ensuring compliance with this complex piece of legislation and we
will keep you informed of developments.
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