Equal pay claim

The recent case of Allonby v Accrington and Rossendale College EAT/130097 looked at the question of whether those working for agencies can compare themselves with in-house employees. The EAT rejected this, redefining the scope of the Scullard case (see Bargaining Report, July 1996).

The case raises a number of complex issues including what happens if an employer imposes a requirement or condition, which impacts more harshly on one sex, for budgetary reasons and then later finds that the savings are not as great as envisaged. According to the EAT that is not enough of itself to make the requirement unjustified.