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 direct but also indirect discrimination. The difference between part-time and full-time work is by itself ‘a material difference’ for the purposes of Section 1(3). The decision of the European Court of Justice clearly establishes that a differential in pay cannot be justified simply by showing that the women are part-time workers, and, where the circumstances are such that part-time workers are wholly or mainly women, an employer cannot justify paying less for like work to a part-time woman than to a full-time man by simply relying on the fact that the woman is a part-time employee.
Judges:
Browne-Wilkinson J P
Citations:
[1981] 1 WLR 1485, [1981] ICR 715, [1981] UKEAT 145 – 79 – 1906, [1981] 2 CMLR 24, [1981] IRLR 228, [1981] ECR 911
Links:
Statutes:
Equal Pay Act 1970, EEC Treaty 119
Citing:
Cited – 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 by:
Mentioned – Pickstone v Freemans Plc HL 30-Jun-1988
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 . .
Cited – E, Regina (on The Application of) v Governing Body of JFS and Another SC 16-Dec-2009
E complained that his exclusion from admission to the school had been racially discriminatory. The school applied an Orthodox Jewish religious test which did not count him as Jewish because of his family history.
Held: The school’s appeal . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Discrimination, European
Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.200625