New equal pay questionnaire issued

PAY DISCRIMINATION

New equal pay questionnaire issued

The Department of Trade and Industry has published its final guidance on the statutory equal pay questionnaire which comes into force 6 April 2003.

One of the stumbling blocks faced by all too many employees when considering whether to bring an equal pay claim is the lack of information about their organisation’ s pay system. The 2002 Employment Act provides for a statutory equal pay questionnaire which is intended to speed up equal pay cases. The questionnaire aims to help individuals who believe they may not have received equal pay to obtain key wage information from their employers to find out whether this is the case, and if not, the reasons why.

Employers will not be under a statutory obligation to provide answers to the questionnaire but if an employer deliberately refuses to answer or gives an evasive or equivocal reply, an employment tribunal will be entitled to draw an adverse inference.

Key features of questionnaire

The questionnaire includes:

• a statement of why the individual thinks they are not receiving equal pay, followed by a statement of who they believe their comparators are
• factual questions to ascertain whether they are receiving less pay than their comparator and, if so, the reasons why
• a question asking whether the employer agrees that the individual and her comparator are doing equal work. And a question asking whether the employer agrees that she is being paid less than her comparator
• guidance on the issues of "confidentiality" and more detailed explanations of the concepts of "equal work" and "equal pay"
• As with the Sex Discrimination Act questionnaire, space is then provided for the complainant's own questions.

The questionnaire includes an eight-week time limit for employers to respond, with the tribunal being able to draw inferences if it was not returned within that time unless the respondent specifies a good reason.

Secrecy pay systems

As Gary Bowker, who is a consultant at Mercer Human Resource Consulting, points out: "The type of questions suggested by the guidance notes accompanying the questionnaire will bring water to the eyes of those who lay great store in the secrecy of their pay systems."

Such questions may include details of how pay is determined within the organisation - for example, details of pay schemes, job grading systems or how skills and experience are reflected in the pay system. Importantly, the individual may also ask for information on the steps that you have taken to implement the EOC's Code of Practice on Equal Pay, which includes as good practice the carrying out of an equal pay review.

Want to know more?

You can download a copy of the questionnaire on the DTI's Women and Equality Unit web site at www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk

Posted 1 April 2003