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Council Refuses Compensation Claims For Unfair Pay

Typically claims for compensation occur when there has been accident; a trip or slip on a council pavement, or being hit by another vehicle on the roads which wasn’t your fault.

However while these might be quite common reasons why people might be entitled to compensation they are not the only ones and there are some reasons which people may not even be aware of. One such case is that of Lisa Ridgeway who worked as a school cashier for five years at a primary school.

She left the role and a while later found out that some of the male employees at the school had earnt more than her for what she felt were comparable roles. People may be entitled to compensation if they feel that two jobs held by the same employer are comparable but because one is occupied by a man and another by women there is a pay difference. Ms Ridgeway feels that this was the case, and that over her five years of working at the school she missed out on five thousand pounds in wages. Ms Ridgeway made a claim to Stoke-on-Trent city council but was told that she was not entitled to compensation because her claim was not made within 6 months of her leaving her role.

It is a difficult situation for Ms Ridgeway as she states she did not find out about the pay difference until she spoke to an ex-colleague some time after she had left the school. She feels that the council underpaid her whilst she was working at the school and therefore she should be entitled to what she missed out on. Other stories of council workers who have made claims for compensation after finding out that they were paid less than their counterparts has fuelled her disappointment.

Stoke-on-Trent Council follows the national single statues agreement which means that salaries for each job role are standardised and the gender of the employee is not taken into consideration. Because of this system the council has offered to pay compensation to 3,500 female employees because they were being paid less than their male counterparts in comparable roles. This is a wise move as employees who feel they have been discriminated against because of their gender are able to take their case to an employment tribunal to have it heard. Employment tribunals are typically bad news for an employer as they can be expensive and attract a lot of bad press.

Some female employees are set to receive ten thousand pounds as a result of this system although the average is around £7,500 pounds. The city council stated that after the system was implemented; those who left the council had six months from their leaving date to make a claim. In these kinds of situations people may not be aware that they are entitled to compensation and potentially could miss out. Being aware of your employment rights in this case could ensure you are paid what you are entitled to.

Danielle is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.

Council Refuses Compensation Claims For Unfair Pay / Author: Danielle Fletcher

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