TUPE and equal pay

[lemonpinklady]

My company has merged with another who get paid more generally ten we do. Word is they are not putting our salaries up in line with theirs. How does that affect Sex Discrimination Act where the different sexes must get equal pay if doing the same job?

Appreciate any replies and thank you.

[Emmzzi]

is everyone tupeing of one gender and everyone at the receiving company the other?

[Sidewinder]

It is outside of the scope of equal pay legislation unless and until you adopt the new employer's contracts - TUPE means that you transfer on your existing T&Cs, so the employer may lawfully not offer you a pay review provided that your existing contract does not entitle you to one, even if this means that the staff who were already employed by the organisation do receive one.

 

If however your 'old' contract states that you WILL receive an annual pay increase then the new employer would have to honour that. In the absence of a contractual entitlement the employer is not obliged to give you a rise at the same time as the other staff, and for as long as he is running two sets of employees on different pay scales, there is no obligation to give equal pay to both sexes.

[becky2585]

The Equality Act (dealing with the old Sex D Act and Equal Pay Act) stipulates that to succeed in an equal pay claim, the two individuals in comparison must be doing the same, or a similar job, with the only reason for the pay disparity being his or her gender. Therefore, as this is a TUPE case, with the reason for the difference in pay being due to different contractual conditions as a result, I don't think equal pay legislation applies to your situation.

[lemonpinklady]

OK everyone, many thanks for replies.

[lemonpinklady]

is everyone tupeing of one gender and everyone at the receiving company the other?

 

Hi, just to answer your query, no everyone is not of the same gender, it is all mixed. I am in the old company and the new company employees general earn more than us for exactly the same job.

[Emmzzi]

Ah, so no sex discrimination at play.

[lemonpinklady]

Thanks for all replies. Seems strange to have a workforce all on different salaries? Can this go on forever with big disparities in salaries?

[Sidewinder]

Technically yes, as TUPE seeks to protect existing rights. So, you could see a transferred workforce whose T&Cs never change. In practice however the 'new' employer will almost certainly need to harmonise terms between both workforces - whilst this cannot be forced and should be through negotiation, no doubt the prospect of a more equal pay structure might compensate for concessions in other areas.

[lemonpinklady]

Thank you, that explains it very well.