Workplace expert ACAS has published new guidance to help bosses and their staff understand the law around equal pay, in line with the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act.

The Act came into force on 29 May 1970 and aimed to prevent discrimination between men and women's pay and other terms and conditions of employment. The equal pay rules have since been updated in the Equality Act 2010 and a statutory code of practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The law says that a person must not get less pay compared to someone else who is of the opposite sex and doing equal work for the same employer.

Differences in pay and other terms and conditions might be allowed in some circumstances. For example, it might be possible for someone to be paid more than someone of the opposite sex who does similar work because:

• they're better qualified, if their skills are crucial to the job and hard to recruit;
• of where they are located – for example, in London where the cost of living is higher; and/or
• they do night shifts, and the employer can prove that they can only cover night shifts by paying staff more.

Getting paid more must have nothing to do with someone’s sex.

Example

A woman might get paid more than a man doing similar work because they’re better qualified and skilled for the job. If there’s an equal pay case, the employer might have to prove, for example, that the woman’s qualifications and skills are crucial for the job, and that they had difficulties hiring and keeping people in the job now done by the woman. But getting paid more must be nothing to do with their sex.

ACAS' new advice covers the basics of equal pay law. It includes steps on how staff can raise concerns at work if they feel they have an equal pay case and good practice guidance for employers on how to try to prevent discriminatory practices in their workplace.

The Equal Pay guidance is available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/equal-pay