Seems like a good idea...
Firms who lose wages tribunals would have to carry out a "pay audit" of all their staff under Tory plans to end sex discrimination at work.
Shadow minister Theresa May said the problem with the current system is that tribunals heard cases individually.
That meant firms found guilty of discrimination are not forced to do anything for other female employees. (BBC)
... but I'm wary of it.Shadow minister Theresa May said the problem with the current system is that tribunals heard cases individually.
That meant firms found guilty of discrimination are not forced to do anything for other female employees. (BBC)
If a company is not paying one woman the same wage as her equal male colleagues, it stands to reason that the same discrimination is likely to exist throughout the rest of the company structure. Whilst under the current system, only that one individual benefits from the tribunal's verdict if the company is deemed to have discriminated based on sex, under the system proposed by the Conservatives every woman in the company is going to be ensured that their pay is not defined by their gender.
In a way, I am a feminist. I believe that women should get treated in precisely the same way as men. If they have the same level of experience, skills, qualifications etc. and doing the same job, then they should the same level of pay, regardless of gender. Being a certain gender in itself should not cause you to get paid more or get paid less. Equality should exist.
I'm just not convinced whether a pay audit if a company lost a wage tribunal would really make that much of a difference to gender pay discrimination. It certainly seems like a logical and intelligent idea, but will it really work?
Image: Theresa May [she actually has a blog as well - but it hasn't been updated since July 6th, despite saying that it "will be updated on a regular basis" on her homepage]
Source: BBC
