Equal work

A man and a woman are engaged on equal work if they are doing:

• Like work, which is work of the same or a broadly similar nature;
• Work which has been rated as equivalent by an analytical job evaluation scheme; or
• Work of equal value i.e. work which an employment tribunal determines, usually with the assistance of one or more experts, is equal in terms of demands made on the employees under headings such as effort, skill and decision-making.

People doing different jobs can, therefore, be engaged on equal work. Examples of claims comparing different jobs which have been found to be of equal value by a tribunal or have settled in favour of the claimant include: a primary school classroom assistant and a library service driver messenger; and a head of speech and language therapy service and a head of a hospital pharmacy service.

Same employment

For a claim to be brought under the Equal Pay Act, a claimant must be employed by the same employer as her comparator or they must be employed by associated employers. Employers are "associated" where one company is controlled by another or where both employers are companies controlled by a third person. The claimant and her comparator must also work at the same establishment or at different establishments to which common terms and conditions of employment apply. A claimant may be able to rely on European law to bring an equal pay claim and the scope for making comparisons under European law appears to be wider than that under the Equal Pay Act. It may be possible to make comparisons between different employers under European law. However, it seems that this can only be done where the difference in pay can be attributed to a single source and there is a body responsible for the inequality which can restore equal treatment.

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