The claimant sought equal pay with other, male, warehouse operatives who were doing work of equal value but for more money. The Court of Appeal had held that since other men were also employed on the same terms both as to pay and work, her claim failed.
Held: The claim was not disbarred in this way. A reference to proceedings in Parliament was used to establish the intention behind the Act. Where regulations had been made in order to give effect to a Community obligation, there was an obligation to apply a purposive construction so as to give effect to the legislative intention and implement the Community obligation. The greater flexibility available to the court in applying a purposive construction to legislation designed to give effect to the United Kingdom’s Treaty obligations to the Community enables the court, where necessary, to supply by implication words appropriate to comply with those obligations. The explanatory note attached to a statutory instrument, although it was not of course part of the instrument, could be used to identify the mischief which it was attempting to remedy.
Lord Oliver of Aylmerton
[1989] AC 66, [1988] 2 All ER 803, [1988] 3 WLR 265, [1988] UKHL 2, [1988] 3 CMLR 221, [1988] ICR 697, [1988] IRLR 357
Hamlyn, Bailii
Equal Pay Act 1970 1(2), EEC Treaty 119, EC Council Directive 75/117
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Ainsworth v Glass Tubes Components Ltd EAT 1977
In an equal pay claim, it is for the applicant to choose the man with whom she wishes to compare herself. . .
Cited – Garland v British Rail Engineering Ltd HL 19-Jan-1981
There was a dispute between an employee of the company, a subsidiary of the British Railways Board, a body created by the Transport Act 1962 to manage the railways in the united kingdom, and her employer concerning discrimination alleged to be . .
Cited – Garland v British Rail Engineering Ltd ECJ 9-Feb-1982
garland_breECJ1982
The fact that an employer (although not bound to do so by contract) provides special travel facilities for former male employees to enjoy after their retirement constitutes discrimination within the meaning of article 119 against former female . .
Cited – Commission of the European Communities v United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ECJ 6-Jul-1982
The general scheme and content of Directive 75/117, whose essential purpose is to implement the principle of equal pay for men and women, indicate that it is the responsibility of the member states to guarantee the right to receive equal pay for . .
Cited – Duke v GEC Reliance Systems Limited HL 2-Jan-1988
The court was asked about the differential in retirement ages between men and women in private sector employment, and whether it constituted sex discrimination.
Held: Section 2(4) of the 1972 Act did not allow a British Court to distort the . .
Mentioned – Bulmer (HP) Ltd v Bollinger SA CA 1974
The plaintiff complained that the respondent had described its drink ‘Babycham’ as a champagne perry, which it said was a misuse of the appellation ‘champagne’.
Held: The court considered the effect of European legislation on the law of . .
Cited – Mary Murphy and others v An Bord Telecom Eireann ECJ 4-Feb-1988
Article 119 of the EEC Treaty, which is directly applicable in the sense that the workers concerned may rely on it in legal proceedings and in the sense that national courts or tribunals must take it into account as a constituent part of community . .
Cited – von Colson and Kamann v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen ECJ 10-Apr-1984
sabineECJ1984
LMA Art.177[Art.234] EC proceedings – Ms Van Colson had applied for a job with the prison service and Ms Harz had applied for a job with a private company Deutsche Tradex GmbH. Both had been rejected. The German . .
Cited – Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium ECJ 6-May-1980
Europa It is essential that each member state should implement directives in a way which fully meets the requirements of clarity and certainty in legal situations which directives seek for the benefit of traders . .
Cited – Hayward v Cammell Laird Shipbuilders Ltd (No. 2) CA 1987
. .
Cited – Hayward v Cammell Laird Shipbuilders Ltd (No. 2) HL 1988
A woman complained that she was not being paid as much as male colleagues who were doing work of equal value. An Act of Parliament had made certain provisions in that regard. Later, that Act had been amended for the purpose of complying with . .
Mentioned – J P Jenkins v Kingsgate (Clothing Productions) Ltd EAT 19-Jun-1981
The claimant worked part time. She said that she should have been paid at the same rate as her male full time equivalents, the failure being incompatible with her rights under Article 119.
Held: The scope of Article 119 EEC covers not only . .
Cited – Hayward v Cammell Laird Shipbuilders Ltd (No. 2) HL 1988
A woman complained that she was not being paid as much as male colleagues who were doing work of equal value. An Act of Parliament had made certain provisions in that regard. Later, that Act had been amended for the purpose of complying with . .
Mentioned – J P Jenkins v Kingsgate (Clothing Productions) Ltd ECJ 31-Mar-1981
ECJ The fact that work paid at time rates is remunerated at an hourly rate which varies according to the number of hours worked per week does not offend against the principle of equal pay laid down in article 119 . .
Cited – Macarthys Ltd v Smith ECJ 27-Mar-1980
The first paragraph of article 119 of the EEC Treaty applies directly, and without the need for more detailed implementing measures on the part of the community or the member states, to all forms of direct and overt discrimination which may be . .
Cited – Johnston v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary ECJ 15-May-1986
The principles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights must be taken into consideration in community law. The principle of effective judicial control laid down in article 6 of Council Directive 76/207, a principle which . .
Cited – O’Brien v Sim-Chem Ltd HL 2-Jan-1980
The Respondent had carried out a job evaluation exercise in co-operation with the trade unions. The plaintiff and comparators had been rated as equivalent in the course of this exercise but the employer had failed to implement the scheme because of . .
Cited – Regina v Maurice Donald Henn and John Frederick Ernest Darby ECJ 14-Dec-1979
Europa Article 30 of the EEC treaty applies also to prohibitions on imports inasmuch as they are the most extreme form of restriction. The expression used in article 30 must therefore be understood as being the . .
Cited – Henn and Darby v Director of Public Prosecutions HL 1980
The House referred to the ECJ questions concerning the impact of Article 30 of the Treaty of Rome upon a prohibition against the importation of pornographic articles.
Lord Diplock said: ‘The European Court, in contrast to English courts, . .
Cited – Susan Jane Worringham and Margaret Humphreys v Lloyds Bank Limited ECJ 11-Mar-1981
Europa A contribution to a retirement benefits scheme which is paid by an employer on behalf of employees by means of an addition to the gross salary and which therefore helps to determine the amount of that . .
Cited – Gisela Rummler v Dato-Druck ECJ 1-Jul-1986
In general Directive 75/117 on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women does not prohibit the use, in a job classification system as referred to in the second . .
Cited by:
Applied – Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v Hart HL 26-Nov-1992
Reference to Parliamentary Papers behind Statute
The inspector sought to tax the benefits in kind received by teachers at a private school in having their children educated at the school for free. Having agreed this was a taxable emolument, it was argued as to whether the taxable benefit was the . .
Applied – Litster and Others v Forth Dry Dock and Engineering Co Ltd HL 16-Mar-1989
The twelve applicants had been unfairly dismissed by the transferor immediately before the transfer, and for a reason connected with the transfer under section 8(1). The question was whether the liability for unfair dismissal compensation . .
Cited – M Dowling v M E Ilic Haulage, Berkeley Logistics Ltd EAT 19-Feb-2004
EAT Procedural Issues – Employment Tribunal
EAT Trade Union Rights – Action short of dismissal
It had been found that the claimant had been dismissed for an . .
Cited – Regina (Amicus etc) v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Admn 26-Apr-2004
The claimants sought a declaration that part of the Regulations were invalid, and an infringement of their human rights. The Regulations sought to exempt church schools from an obligation not to discriminate against homosexual teachers.
Held: . .
Cited – Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza HL 21-Jun-2004
Same Sex Partner Entitled to tenancy Succession
The protected tenant had died. His same-sex partner sought a statutory inheritance of the tenancy.
Held: His appeal succeeded. The Fitzpatrick case referred to the position before the 1998 Act: ‘Discriminatory law undermines the rule of law . .
Cited – Regina v Montila and Others HL 25-Nov-2004
The defendants faced charges under the two Acts. They raised as a preliminary issue whether it is necessary for the Crown to prove that the property being converted was in fact the proceeds, in the case of the 1994 Act, of drug trafficking and, in . .
Cited – Autologic Holdings Plc and others v Commissioners of Inland Revenue HL 28-Jul-2005
Taxpayer companies challenged the way that the revenue restricted claims for group Corporation Tax relief for subsidiary companies in Europe. The issue was awaiting a decision of the European Court. The Revenue said that the claims now being made by . .
Cited – Robb v Salamis (M and I) Ltd HL 13-Dec-2006
The claimant was injured working for the defendants on a semi-submersible platform. He fell from a ladder which was not secured properly. He alleged a breach of the Regulations. The defendant denied any breach and asserted that the claimant had . .
Cited – Parkwood Leisure Ltd v Alemo-Herron and Others SC 15-Jun-2011
The claimants had been employed by a local authority and then transferred to the respondents. They had had the benefit that their terms of employment were subject to collective agreement. The respondent was not part of the negotiation of later . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Discrimination, Employment, Litigation Practice
Leading Case
Updated: 09 November 2021; Ref: scu.182419
