This equipment was donated by Thompsons solicitors Women at Work: 90 Years Since the Representation...

This equipment was donated by Thompsons solicitors

Women at Work: 90 Years Since the Representation of the People Act 1918

Wednesday 3rd December 2008

http://www.thompsons.law.co.uk/index.htm

The Gender Equality DutyLessons Learned from the

Civil Service

Pat Campbell

Head of Equality, PCS

Institute of Employment Rights Women at Work Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Features of the Civil Service

• Well regulated• Highly unionised• Pay audits since 2002/3• Large female workforce (53%) mainly in

lower grades• Low pay is prevalent 10% staff earn

under £15K and further 25% £15-20K p.a.


Gender Pay Gap

At the median• UK average 12.8% for full time workers• Civil Service 15.2%• But by responsibility level only 4-6%

differential

At the mean• UK average 17.1% (up from April 2008)• Civil Service up to 28.5% in some areas


Pay Bargaining in the Civil Service

• Pay settlements controlled by annual Treasury pay remit

• For 2008 annual settlements should be below 2% - no additional money for equal pay

• PCS industrial dispute• Pay bargaining delegated to individual

Departments and Agencies within the remit – who is the employer?


Pay Audits 2003

• Pay audits of all Departments and Agencies required since 2003 as a condition of pay delegation

• Only monitored, collected and published centrally once

• Findings on equal pay broadly in the “acceptable” range of 5%


Discrimination in Pay Systems

Pay audits found potential discrimination in:

• Pay progression systems

• Long pay scales

• Gender segregation

• Starting pay on appointment/promotion

• Allowances and bonuses


Other Discriminatory Issues

PCS also identified:• Additional payments e.g. overtime, shift

pay • Performance related pay and appraisal

systems• Long service awards• Benefits – extra annual leave, cars etc.• Unjustified pay protection


The Bigger Picture

Structural inequalities – where pay audits fall down

• Women’s concentration in lower paid lower status jobs

• Access to training opportunities• Poor quality part time jobs• Support for carers• Access to flexible working at senior levels


PCS Equal Pay Strategy

• Bargaining supported by training for negotiators

• Awareness Raising amongst members and reps

• Campaigning and lobbying

• Legal action through equal pay cases


PCS Equal Pay Cases

To address gender segregation and the undervaluing of women’s work

• Who is the employer/who controls pay and who is an appropriate comparator – Departments and their Agencies

• Age discrimination linked to pay progression and length of service

• Others on equal value, starting pay etc


Gender Equality Duty

• Little or no impact on employment-related issues and equal pay

• No sectoral direction or co-ordination• Low levels of understanding and

compliance – high levels of complacency

• Weak enforcement• Judicial review


Department for Transport (DfT)

• Department for Transport – core Department and 7 agencies

• Separate pay audits in each area• Highly gender segregated organisation• Significant 16% gender pay gaps in a

cross agency comparison – female admin staff in DVLA – male Driving Examiners in DSA


Judicial review in DfT

• Judicial review proceedings lodged -Secretary of State cannot delegate responsibility for pay audits under GED

• Stayed pending hearing of linked equal pay claims (Spring 2009)

• EHRC has intervened after threat of judicial review for non-enforcement


What needs to change?

• More central direction from Ministers• Funding to address equal pay and equal

value issues• An end to delegated pay bargaining• A better understanding of the causes of the

gender pay gap• Measures to improve women’s opportunities

to progress• Valuing women’s work


Lessons Learned from the GED

• Civil Service has paid more attention to public policy than to employment policies

• The GED is not understood or embedded into employment practices

• Enforcement provisions are too weak and action to easy to avoid

• Insufficient accountability for action and progress


Where next for the GED?

• How will equal pay legislation be incorporated into the new Equality Bill?

• Will a single equality duty lead to a weakening of emphasis on gender equality and on equal pay?


This equipment was donated by Thompsons solicitors Women at Work: 90 Years Since the Representation...

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