| Equal pay claims have risen drastically in the last | | | | In a recent Forbes list of the 100 most powerful |
| two years, raising questions over whether the | | | | women in the world, occupations included CEOs, |
| legal system can cope with the deluge of claims | | | | secretaries of state, vice presidents, presidents, |
| flooding the courts. Particularly badly affected are | | | | politicians and prime ministers. Women have |
| the NHS and public sectors, but employment | | | | broken the glass ceiling and are at the forefront |
| lawyers predict the private sector will start to | | | | of business, politics and professions, but inequality |
| feel the pain in the not too distant future. | | | | in pay is still a major issue for the fairer sex. |
| Among the factors leading to an increase in equal | | | | But can legal action help the cause? With tribunals |
| pay claims, the upsurge of 'no win no fee' | | | | at breaking point from the flood of pay claims |
| solicitors has been blamed by a top trade union | | | | against local authorities, Jenny Watson, previous |
| official as a core concern. | | | | chair of the equal opportunities commission, said, |
| Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, has laid | | | | while still in office, that the flood of pay claims |
| the blame at the feet of lawyers, saying: "no win | | | | brought recently against local authorities was |
| no fee solicitors are finding equal pay claims a | | | | pushing the Employment Tribunal to breaking point. |
| very lucrative bandwagon." | | | | The system seems to have been under prepared |
| As it currently stands in Britain there is a 17% | | | | for the increased workload and has not had a |
| gap between men and women working fulltime | | | | proportionate increase in staff to help deal with |
| and 38% when working part time. But current law | | | | the increased volume of claims. |
| only provides for equal pay rights where the | | | | One defense put up against the numbers is that |
| difference in pay is due to sexual discrimination. | | | | they are exaggerated due to the number of |
| From April 06 to March 07 there were just under | | | | group claims that have been launched. Before she |
| one quarter of a million claims accepted by the | | | | left the EOC, Watson suggested that there be a |
| employment tribunals - up from just over 156,081 | | | | moratorium on new claims, with affected |
| during the same period in 04/05. Equal pay | | | | companies given three years to rectify the |
| accounted for 44,013 claims having risen from | | | | situation. She also indicated that she felt the |
| just 8,229 in 04/05. The success rate for such | | | | growth in the area of 'no win no fee' solicitors |
| claims was just two per cent at full tribunal level | | | | would continue, as the number of women seeking |
| although a lot are settled before this point. | | | | legal advice over pay related disputes shows no |
| So why have the figures for equal pay claims | | | | sign of dropping. |
| increased so dramatically in just two short years? | | | | |