Birmingham City Council could appeal equal pay ruling
Birmingham City Council is today reviewing a ruling from an employment tribunal which could lead to a £30 million payout to 5,000 female staff who won a case for equal pay. It is believed that differences in the working contracts of men and women working for the Council could see pay and bonuses back dated after they were initially only paid to selected male workers.
While a potential £30 million payout would be difficult for the council to fund, lawyers believe the overall cost could be as high as £600 million following the employment tribunal ruling. Much of the anger and resentment leading to today's tribunal ruling is a result of a change in pay structures in 2007 with unions claiming that some people were up to £18,000 worse off.
This is not the first time that local councils have been on the wrong end of employment tribunal rulings regarding equal pay. However, a potential £600 million payout has certainly seen many equal employment and human rights lawyers sit up and take notice in the UK. If any appeal is unsuccessful this could be the first of a number of similar cases to go before UK employment tribunals up and down the country.
Share this..
Related stories
Benefits System Comes In For More Criticism
A new survey has uncovered a staggering 25% jump in the number of benefit frauds across the UK, with over £140 million being lost to the criminals each year. The survey has shown a number of astounding examples where people have been running businesses while claiming disability allowance and incapacity benefit - the examples are as shocking as they are unbelievable! Quite why the councils inv...
Read MoreAirline industry makes last ditch attempt to reverse airline tax
The UK government is under pressure today to reverse the latest increase in airline taxes which will push airline ticket prices significantly higher. The new regulations come in today and there are serious concerns that many airlines, consumers, businesses and airports will suffer as the UK government looks to ratchet up income from every area of the UK economy.
The UK airline indus...
Is Gordon Brown backing tax breaks for marriages?
Despite the fact that the Labour Party has for two years been attacking David Cameron's plans to introduce tax friendly breaks for marriages yesterday saw something of a u-turn by Gordon Brown when he seemed to confirm that the UK government introduced the ability to transfer inheritance tax allowances between spouses to encourage marriage. This goes against what the government has been saying for...
Read MoreUK government loses European Court of Justice Case
The UK government could be forced to pay back as much as £20 billion after HSBC was victorious in a case brought against the UK government at the European Court of Justice. It relates to "UK stamp duty reserve tax" which was introduced back in 1986 to cover cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Rather than attempting collect 0.5% stamp duty from shares issued through a foreign clearinghouse, or...
Read MoreAre the unions now flexing their muscles as we approach the election?
The last few days has seen the Labour government in detailed talks with UK unions over potential public sector service cuts and employment issues for the future. Despite the fact that the UK budget deficit will hit £175 billion this year and UK national debt is over £1 trillion it seems as though the UK unions are flexing their muscles in return for supporting, both financially and practically,...
Read More