Birmingham City Council could be forced to pay out £600m in equal pay claims, after an employment tribunal found thousands of female staff were entitled to the same pay as men working as gardeners, refuse collectors and grave diggers.
The women, who worked as cleaners and care assistants, challenged the council’s decision to exclude them from bonuses paid to men, worth up to 160% of their basic pay. The payment system meant that some male staff had earned over £50,000 per year.The employment tribunal released a 160-page judgement on the issue on 27 April, but in effect stated Birmingham’s defence had failed.
Lawyers from both the council and the trade union Unison are studying the fine detail of the judgement, but Unison said the women had ‘won a major test case against the largest local authority in the country’.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis called on Birmingham to pay the claims quickly.
‘For too long Birmingham City Council has failed to live up to its responsibilities to pay these women workers fairly. This has cost council taxpayers’ huge amounts of money in legal fees.
‘This money would have been better spent on providing vital local services, many of which are facing damaging cuts,’ he said.
Birmingham City Council is yet to respond to the judgement.
