Union discriminated against female members

A trade union unlawfully discriminated against some of its female members when it opted not to pursue a better pay deal for them, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The appeal court ruled in Allen v GMB, that GMB indirectly discriminated against female staff at Middlesbrough Borough Council when it recommended that members accept an equal pay deal, even though it undervalued the women’s claims. The union feared that if the women successfully claimed for the back pay they believed they were entitled to when compared with a group of predominantly male employees, it would threaten negotiations for pay rises for all its members.

Overturning an earlier judgment of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the court held that the union had misrepresented to the women the nature of the deal which was on offer from their employers. Although the aim of securing a fair single status pay deal was legitimate, the court said, the way the union secured the deal was not done in a proportionate manner. The case will now return to the employment tribunal where compensation levels will be assessed.

Macfarlanes solicitor James Baker says: “This is extremely damning, and potentially very expensive, for the GMB. We can expect similar pay deals to come under the judicial microscope as a result.”