Tight-lipped employers are the biggest obstacle to women who want to exercise their right to equal pay, according to employment law expert Nichola Upperton-Evans, a partner at law firm Rowe Cohen.
She claims that many women who are paid less than men for doing the same job simply can’t find out how much their male counterparts are earning and that the Data Protection Act is giving women an even bigger mountain to climb.
Employers have always been reluctant to disclose this information - fearful of incriminating themselves by admitting that they were giving unfair pay.
Employers who store, retrieve or reveal even the most basic personal information from their payroll files now face prosecution and penalties under The Data Protection Act, warns Upperton-Evans. How on earth are women supposed to find out whether or not they are receiving a fair, not to say, legal deal, when nobody is prepared to give them - or their legal representatives - the facts they need to establish that malpractice has occurred.
It seems that, with the best of intentions, the Government has put two completely conflicting pieces of legislation on the statute book. The comprehensive drafting of the Data Protection Act has dashed many women’s hopes of achieving equal pay.
Stewart Room, a Data Protection Act specialist at Rowe Cohen, agrees:
Both women and employers find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The gender pay gap means that on average men earn 559 a month more than women doing the same job. 6,708 a year!
The Equal Opportunities Commission was already fighting an uphill battle. Data Protection legislation means that they’re now fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.
The GMB trade union is calling for compulsory pay audits to make sure that women are being paid fairly. Making such a revelation could land employers in trouble.
Room explains, Women have been given the legal right to discover how much their male colleagues are being paid for doing the same job. Employers who refuse to divulge this information are being brought before Employment Tribunals to explain why they didn’t comply.
If they do comply, however, they risk finding themselves brought before the Courts under the Data Protection Act 1998 to explain why they divulged confidential personal information.
The Rowe Cohen team has joined forces to help employers and employees untangle the Equal Pay/Data Protection dilemma. They believe it is possible to reach an equitable and legal outcome, in specific cases, with some precise legal footwork.
For further information, contact Nichola Upperton-Evans or Stewart Room on 0207 332 2235.
Between a rock and a hard place
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