Once
you are convinced that you have a case, the next step
is proceeding to a tribunal. This
section covers:
Equal
Pay Questionnaire Letter
of Claim
Time
Limits What
Can Be Claimed
Costs Types
of claim
Equal
Pay Questionnaire
If
you have not served an Equal Pay
Questionnaire yet, it is advisable that you do so
now. You can ask many detailed questions and can use
the EPQ to request any documentation or answer any questions
that you believe will be needed to prove your case or
disprove the defence - both side of the argument must
be considered in advance, otherwise you may be in for
some surprise moves. If your employer fails to answer
any question or provide requested documentation, see
Orders. If you fail to serve an EPQ on your employer
you may not have all the info
More
About the EPQ EPQ
Download (Word format)
Letter
of Claim
It
is not essential to send a letter of claim to your employer,
but it is another reasonable attempt to get them to settle
before you start to incur costs. Even though your employer
may appear to want to settle or tells you they
will, this may be just another tactic to string
you along so you miss the deadline, so do not miss
the time limit to submit your IT1 - this is your responsibility
and you will not get an extension if you tell the tribunal
you did not apply because you thought your employer wanted
to settle.
Time
Limits
The
time limit for applying for a tribunal is at anytime
during your employment or within 6 months of leaving
(less one day). The time limit relates to your effective
termination date and is not affected by any sick leave.
If you are now doing a different
job to the one that you are complaining about but
you still work for the same employer, the 6 months (less
one day) still runs from the effective date of termination,
not date you stopped doing the other job that is subject
to your claim.
The
time limit may be extended in specific circumstances,
which include
More
about time limits
What
Can Be Claimed
The
pay claim can cover the period of when you were not on
equal pay, up to a maximum of 6 years from filing the
IT1. It can be backdated for even longer in certain cases
such as disability or the employer concealing facts.
Your claim can include loss of pension rights, difference
in holiday pay and bonuses etc. This will be covered
in more detail in the schedule of
loss.
More
on backdating claims
Costs
An
employee can take a claim to a tribunal by themselves,
do all the paperwork and represent themselves, so as
not to incur any costs. It is recommended that you have
legal representation at the main hearing unless you have
a firm grasp of the legal arguments required to
argue your case. Generally, any costs incurred will not
be recoverable by either side.
Costs
are recoverable however, where 'a party has in bringing
the proceedings, or a party's representative has in conducting
the proceedings, acted vexatious, abusively, disruptively
or otherwise unreasonably, or the bringing or conducting
of proceedings has been misconceived'. Misconceived would
mean that there is little chance of success, based on
the available evidence. Because claims of 'equal value'
are more complex, costs may be awarded if one side has
unreasonably delayed the preparation of the independent
expert's report.
Type
of Complaint
To
apply to the tribunal, you
need to know what type of complaint you
have - 'like work' or work of 'equal value'. Equal
Pay for Like Work is if your job and that of
your comparator are broadly similar in nature and the
differences are not of practical importance to the terms
and conditions of employment, even if they have different
job titles.
Equal
Pay for Work of Equal Value allows a claim
to be made against very different jobs that may be
paid under different grading systems, collective agreements
of job evaluation schemes. A comparison using effort,
skill and decision would be made by an expert, who
would weight and balance the different features of
the jobs. To claim under this, you would need to be
able to estimate this in advance to ensure that the
jobs were equal value.
So
decide which type of claim you have - like work, equal
value or a combination eg like work and/or equal
value - and enter this in the type of complaint
section. If you have any doubt about whether it is like
work, it is worth claiming the combination and this point
will be argued at the tribunal. If you claim like work
only and the tribunal consider it to be equal value,
you may lose your claim if you are then unable to resubmit
a new claim under equal value due to time limitations. The
EOC are very helpful and will be able to help you decide
exactly what type of claim you should list. Their helpline
number is 0845 601 5901.
Below
this, always add that you are also complaining under Article
141 of the Treaty of Rome. This is in case part
of your claim falls outside of the wording of the Equal
Pay Act, you will still be able to claim under EU law.
More
on 'like work' More
on 'equal value' More
on EU law
