Justifying unequal pay

Case 6: The facts

When accountant Ms Sharp brought an equal pay claim, an independent expert found that she was doing work of equal value to one of her comparators.

The employer said that the comparator had previously worked as private secretary to the company chairman, and the personal nature of his work accounted for the higher pay; when his duties changed following the chairman's death, it was thought unfair to reduce his salary.

A tribunal held that this was a genuine material factor, unrelated to the sex of the employee, that accounted for the difference in pay. It dismissed Sharp's claim.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that, even if the employer can point to a genuine material factor explaining the difference in pay, this must still be objectively justified.

The tribunal had wrongly taken a subjective rather than an objective approach and the case was sent to a fresh tribunal for rehearing.

Sharp v Caledonia Group Services UKEAT/0041/05