Equal Pay Questionnaire

Summary:

Occasionally, disputes arise in the workplace where an employee believes that she or he is paid less than someone of the opposite sex performing equivalent duties. In many cases, thought not all, the complaint is made by women who perceive that male colleagues are paid more for doing the same job. It is important that these complaints are taken seriously by employers, and that effective means are available in the workplace to establish the facts where a grievance is raised. As part of a joint public consultation conducted by this Department in conjunction with the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, a proposal was made to introduce a procedure designed to assist in the resolution of this type of dispute. As envisaged by the joint consultation document, the procedure would involve circulating a questionnaire which would ask, in detail, about the nature of an employee’s complaint, and which would seek a written response from the employer against whom the complaint is made. A time limit of eight weeks was proposed, during which an employer could respond to a case, with tribunals able to draw inference from a failure to do so. The goal was to help resolve disputes in the workplace by setting out the case clearly at an early stage or, where this is impossible, to provide clear evidence for consideration by a tribunal. The joint consultation document contained a preliminary Regulatory Impact Assessment and a preliminary Equality Impact Assessment, which examined the potential effects of the proposal’s introduction. Date of Publication: 20 Dec 2000 Consultation Period runs until: 28 Feb 2001

Publish Date:

20 December 2000

Availability:

This document is available to download by following the link below or by writing to:

Department for Employment and Learning
Adelaide House
39-49 Adelaide Street
Belfast
BT2 8FD

Tel: 028 9025 7777 (Monday - Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm)
Fax: 028 9025 7778