On Friday 7th July, the Employment Tribunal issued its judgement in the case of Allan & Others v Fife Council in which the Tribunal found that the Fife Council Job Evaluation Scheme did not meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, rendering the scheme unreliable.
Dallas McMillan Solicitors acted for over 1000 Claimants in the case. They said the Council’s failure to set out a reliable and transparent Job Evaluation Scheme led to the Claimants and numerous other Fife Council workers receiving a lower pay grade than other workers employed in similar or equivalent roles with the Council. That lower grading was said to be unfair and to the detriment of the Claimants.
David Hutchison, Dallas McMillan’s Head of Employment Law, started the action in 2016. He said:
“This is a landmark decision. We took on these claims having evaluated them and taken the view that the Claimants were not being paid equally. We have represented these Claimants for seven years and, throughout that time, Fife Council disputed the claims in full. That ultimately led to a four week long Employment Tribunal hearing and I am delighted that we have won the case. More importantly however, I am delighted that the Claimants have taken a significant step towards winning their fight for equal pay.”
The judgement of the Employment Tribunal does not automatically entitle the Claimants to an award of compensation. That issue is yet to be resolved and Hutchison hopes that the judgement will persuade the Council to start settlement negotiations:
“I would certainly encourage the Council to seek to resolve these cases as soon as they can for the benefit of their workers, especially at a time when the cost of living is an issue of concern to everybody. If further litigation is required, that will unnecessarily delay matters and will only add to costs all round including to the taxpayer.”
If you are employed by Fife Council or have stopped working for them in the last six months, you may be entitled to recover compensation on the basis that you have been paid less than you should have been. For expert advice on equal pay and employment law, please contact our employment law solicitors at Dallas McMillan by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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