Three dozen dinner ladies who claimed they were victimized by a local authority have had their equal pay claim upheld by the House of Lords.
The Law Lords overturned the Court of Appeal in St Helens Borough Council v Derbyshire, holding that forceful and intimidating letters sent by an employer to a group of employees claiming equal pay can amount to victimisation.
The women, along with 473 others, claimed equal pay with male road sweepers in 1998. Most accepted the terms of a settlement offered by the council but the rest took their claim to an employment tribunal and won. The tribunal awarded them £560,000 for their equal pay claim.
Two months before their claims were to be heard a council official sent two letters, one to the women and the other to all the catering staff, claiming that if they continued their claims and were successful, there would be “a severe impact on all staff”. It was, Lord Neuberger said, “effectively a threat”.
Michelle Cronin, the women’s solicitor at Thompsons says:
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