LEGAL CHALLENGE

[seesred]

I have always thought it was against employment law to pay different rates for doing exactly the same job. Surely blatant discrimination against new starters.

I worked in an office job where I was being paid over 20% more than my colleagues doing the same job, because I worked for one agency, and they worked for a different one, and in my previous job, which was non-unionised, everybody was on a different pay rate, because you had to negotiate your own salary.

[kazardaimenu]

I have always thought it was against employment law to pay different rates for doing exactly the same job. Surely blatant discrimination against new starters.

Did some digging....


By way of the Equality Act, both men and women in the UK must generally receive equal pay for doing equal work. This law stands to protect people from discrimination by reason of their sex and equal pay provisions apply to all contractual terms.

However, it is not necessarily illegal for 2 employees doing the same job to earn different pay, providing that the employer can justify any difference in pay or other contractual benefits on the basis of a reason, or reasons, wholly unrelated to the gender of the jobholders.

I would assume that one of Royal Mail's reason/s are that we are 40% overpaid compared to the overall delivery market and that by recruiting posties on 10% more than the average that they see that their pay offer is justified in current market conditions?? And I always thought we did a lot more than lob parcels over the back gate!!

The company could find itself in a lot of difficulties if some of those recruits that were paid on less money later decided to take Royal Mail to an employment tribunal. But I think it is much more likely given the number of posties that are currently on sick leave that they will probably quit. How would you feel if you were getting £50 less a week than your van share partner for working the same number of hours?

What are they basing these figures off? If minimum wage of £9.50 then new recruits would get £10.45 ph and we would be on £13.30 ph outside of London. Doesn't add up.

[clashcityrocker]

How would you feel if you were getting £50 less a week than your van share partner for working the same number of hours?

What if your van share partner currently has £20 reserved ex PHG plus a £20 IPS bonus from his previous office plus his driving allowance.
How would you feel about that?

[guardianangel]

If Royal Mail force you to sign new contracts ,write to them saying you will work under protest and take them to a tribunal.

[postslippete]

What if your van share partner currently has £20 reserved ex PHG plus a £20 IPS bonus from his previous office plus his driving allowance.
How would you feel about that?

I think you've just made a really good point clash. I know one or two postie's that still get that allowance - and Royal Mail want to scrap it because....and I can't remember the exact words, but it would be quite ironic if they said anywhere that they wanted to do it so that all postie's would be on the same pay....

....and then advertise job vacancies for new postie's on less money