The London-wide bus strike by Unite members seeking equal pay has been widely reported. The City’s routes are contracted out to a number of different operators and there are reports that wages between these operators vary by up to £3 per hour. As a result, bus drivers are demanding equal pay.
Equal pay litigation in local government has received much media attention in recent years and it seems, as a consequence of this, employees in other sectors are now prepared to question the fairness of their pay.
However, in order to bring valid equal pay claims there are fundamental requirements. An initial hurdle for the bus drivers would be to identify a comparator of the opposite sex at the ‘same’ employer or an ‘associated’ employer.
Alternatively they could argue that they are in the 'same establishment or service' as their comparator for the purposes of EU law. This involves demonstrating that any pay inequality is attributable to a single source which can restore equal treatment.
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