A large group of female council employees which includes cooks, cleaners and care assistants are set to share a large compensation payout following the decision of an employment tribunal. The ladies were employed by Birmingham City Council and took their equal pay case to the employment tribunal because they had not been paid bonuses that male employees had received.
The bonus payments in question were paid to male refuse collectors and were so high that some refuse collectors earned 160% of their basic salary, meaning one in particular took home over £50,000 in a year whilst a female employee on the same pay scale earned less than £12,000.
The employment tribunal ruled that this was a case of unequal pay and that the bonus payments paid to male refuse collectors were discriminatory. The Employment Tribunal said that the bonus payments were not justified because they were rewarded to male employees simply for performing their duties properly.
The women concerned and their solicitors have called the ruling a huge victory for equal pay.