A weekly column focusing on the legal labyrinth of company law, employment law and property law. This week, Chris Kane of Withy King considers the issue of equal pay.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that female employees earn nearly 20 per cent less than their male counterparts.

In situations where one sex is paid less than the other despite doing the same, similar or equivalent work, employers face the risk of their employees bringing a claim for equal pay against them.

However, employers need not worry about equal pay claims if they can show that any unequal treatment is due to a material factor which is not the difference of sex.

In a recent case, a female employee claimed equal pay with four male employees who earned between £4,000 and £9,000 gross per annum more than her.

The employer argued that the reason for the disparity in pay was that the applicant had not been employed as long as the men, which was the criterion used for determining pay increases.

The issue in dispute was whether the employer had to objectively justify the use of a length of service criterion for determining pay acceleration.

The Employment Tribunal took the view that the employer had failed to provide specific justification for the differentials based on length of service.

This ruling meant that the employee was entitled to an immediate pay rise of £9,000 in order to bring her pay up to the same level as that of the highest paid male but also to six years of backdated increases.

The employer also faced the possibility that, once the employee had been moved up to a higher salary, male employees of her level on lower salaries would have become entitled to the same pay as her and the highest paid person.

Not surprisingly, the employer appealed against the decision and the Employment Appeals Tribunal ruled that the employer was entitled to reward seniority without needing to show its actual importance for the performance of the specific duties entrusted to the employee.

"Phew!" exclaimed relieved employers and HR managers across Swindon!

If you would like to speak to an employment law specialist about equal pay matters or on any employment law related issues please call Withy King Commercial on 01793 536526.