Equal pay is your right to receiving the same wage as someone doing the same or broadly similar work as you and someone in the same job role as you. The most common reasons for pay differences is gender and generally women being paid less than a man in the same job as her. There are a number of ways you can check to see if you are being fairly paid as a woman:
- Conducting an equal pay survey
It’s not easy to find out how much people in your office or job role are earning so a good way round it is to conduct a survey. This survey can include their role, years of experience, education level, ethnicity, gender, recognitions and anything relevant for someone in your line of work. This will give you a clear indication of the reasons for the pay differences and if it is due to gender or not.
- Checking job ads of the same/ similar role to you
This is an easy way to see if you are being fairly paid as a woman in your job (not just for gender reasons). Check a few different job adverts to see what they are offering for doing the same role as you.
- Asking your colleagues (although this isn’t always a preferred method)
Ideally, no one wants to be asking their colleagues what they are earning and in a lot of places it is frowned upon. However, in Great Britain, any pay secrecy clause in an employment contract is overridden if you suspect inequality of pay on gender grounds.
If you do discover you are being unfairly paid as a woman, make sure you speak up as your employer is breaking the law. Speaking up will not only help you but will help the next generation of women entering the work place. Contact your UNISON rep immediately if you suspect this as some claims are dismissed due to the time limits on when you can claim. You can generally claim for equal pay rights up to a maximum of six years lost earnings.
If you have contacted your employer and not received a resolution, you can then make the claim for lost earnings.
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