Differences in pay between men and women at Dudley Council not justified says tribunal

29 November 2011

Low paid women including care assistants, catering assistants and cleaners have succeeded in an important stage of their equal pay claims against Dudley Council. The women claimed that the Council had discriminated against them over a period of many years by paying them less than men doing comparable jobs. An employment tribunal has now held that the Council has failed to show that there was a non-discriminatory explanation for the differences in pay and has held that the differences cannot be justified. 

The claims were among several hundred similar claims that have been brought against the Council and the result of this hearing is likely to have an impact on the outcome of many hundreds of claims which are yet to be determined.

The successful claimants in Whitehead & Others v Dudley MBC were represented by Rachel Crasnow and Catriona Stirling of Cloisters.